THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  AND  ITS 
MEMBERS 


111 


THE  ROYAL   ACADEMY 
AND  ITS  MEMBERS 

1768=  1830 
BY  THE  LATE  J.   E.   HODGSON,   E.A. 

LIBRARIAN  AND  PROFESSOR  OF  PAINTING  IN  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

AND  FRED.   A.   EATON,   M.A. 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YOEK 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

LONDON:   JOHN  MURRAY,    ALBEMARLE    STREET 

1905 


Printed  in  Great  Britain. 


DEDICATED 

BY   GRACIOUS   PERMISSION   TO 

HIS     MAJESTY     KING     EDWARD     VII. 

BY  WHOSE  ANCESTOR,   KING   GEORGE    If}. 

THE   ROYAL   ACADEMY 

WAS   FOUNDED. 


252602 


PREFACE 

A  CONSIDERABLE  portion  of  the  matter  contained  in  this 
volume  has  appeared  in  the  pages  of  the  Art  Journal,  the 
proprietors  of  which  magazine  have  kindly  given  their  sanction 
for  its  use. 

The  approval  which  the  articles  in  their  original  form  met 
with  from  members  of  the  Academy  and  others,  encouraged  me 
to  think  that,  with  certain  alterations  and  additions,  they  might 
meet  with  acceptance  from  the  public  as  an  authentic  history 
of  the  Royal  Academy  and  its  members  for  the  first  sixty  years 
of  the  existence  of  the  Institution. 

Although  the  actual  history  does  not  go  beyond  the  year 
1830,  many  of  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the  Con- 
stitution and  Laws  of  the  Academy  down  to  the  present  time 
are  noted  throughout  the  volume,  and  the  information  contained 
in  the  Appendices,  which  it  is  hoped  will  be  valuable  for 
reference,  is  completed  to  the  end  of  the  year  1904. 

The  greater  number  of  the  articles  referred  to  were  written 
in  collaboration  with  the  late  Mr  J.  E.  Hodgson,  R.A.,  Librarian 
and  Professor  of  Painting  to  the  Royal  Academy.  At  his  death 
Mr  G.  D.  Leslie,  R.A.,  kindly  consented  to  take  his  place. 
Roughly  speaking  the  joint  authorship  of  Mr  Hodgson  extends 
to  the  end  of  Chapter  XIV.,  while  Mr  Leslie  has  a  share  in 
the  remaining  chapters. 

All  that  part  which  treats  of  art  in  general,  and  of  the  art 
of  the  members  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  particular,  is  by  Mr 
Hodgson  and  Mr  Leslie.  For  so  much  as  deals  with  the 


vi  PREFACE 

history  of  the  Royal  Academy  as  an  institution,  and  for  the 
editing  of  the  work  in  its  present  form,  also  for  the  compilation 
of  the  Appendices,  I  am  responsible.  My  endeavour  has  been 
to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  treating  the  subject  in  any  contro- 
versial spirit,  and  simply  to  put  together  a  statement  of  facts 
taken  from  the  original  sources.  No  attempt  has  been  made 
to  give  complete  biographies  of  the  members  or  lists  of  their 
works ;  these  may  be  found  elsewhere  and  would  occupy  too 
much  space  here. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  prejudiced  and  untrustworthy 
accounts  of  its  early  history,  such  as  are  to  be  found  in  Sir 
Robert  Strange's  pamphlet,  and  Benjamin  Haydon's  autobio- 
graphy, the  only  work  dealing  with  the  Royal  Academy  and 
its  members,  hitherto  published,  has  been  that  of  Mr  William 
Sandby,  which  appeared  in  1862,  and  from  which  much  of  the 
information  contained  in  the  present  volume  has  been  derived, 
though  in  every  case  it  has  been  verified,  and  where  necessary 
corrected  by  reference  to  the  original  authorities. 

My  grateful  thanks  are  due  to  the  Council  of  the  Royal 
Academy  for  their  kindness  in  giving  me  permission  to  make 
free  use  of  the  archives  of  the  Academy,  and  to  reproduce 
certain  portraits  and  documents.  I  have  also  to  express  my 
obligation  to  Mr  C.  Mallord  Turner  for  allowing  me  to  include 
among  the  illustrations  his  portrait  of  J.  M.  W.  Turner,  R. A. 

F.  A.  E. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

PAGES 

London  in  the  eighteenth  century ;  early  art  in  England ; 
miniature  painting ;  Jonathan  Richardson  ;  his  influence  on 
Reynolds ;  first  establishment  of  Art  in  England ;  Sir  James 
ThornhilPs  Academy  ;  Hogarth's  Academy  in  St  Martin's 
Lane  ;  plans  for  the  establishment  of  an  Academy ;  exhibi- 
tions of  pictures  started ;  Societies  of  Artists  formed ; 
memorial  to  George  III.;  his  approval  of  the  scheme  pro- 
posed; signs  the  "Instrument"  of  the  foundation  of  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts  ;  first  meeting  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
and  first  Discourse  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  as  President  .  1-13 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   FIRST   PRESIDENT,   SIR  JOSHUA   REYNOLDS 

Early  life  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds ;  the  choice  of  a  profession ; 
pupil  of  Hudson ;  returns  to  Devonshire ;  goes  with 
Commodore  Keppel  to  the  Mediterranean ;  stay  in  Italy ; 
returns  to  London  and  settles  in  Leicester  Fields  ;  his  life 
there  ;  the  "  Discourses "  ;  his  opinions  on  Art ;  his  pictures 
and  methods  of  work ;  his  note-books ;  sitter's  chair ;  is 

knighted  ;  his  many-sidedness     .....       14-27 
vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  III 

THE   FIRST   PRESIDENCY 

PAGES 

The  share  of  George  III.,  Reynolds,  and  Sir  William  Chambers 
in  the  foundation  of  the  Academy;  George  III.'s  personal 
interest  in  it ;  gives  it  financial  aid  and  rooms  in  Somerset 
House ;  draws  up  the  form  of  diploma  of  which  Cipriani  de- 
signs the  head-piece ;  election  of  Reynolds  as  President ;  his 
assiduity  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties ;  rejection  by  the 
Council  of  a  picture  by  Nathaniel  Hone  ;  Hone's  quarrel  with 
Angelica  Kauffman ;  Gainsborough's  quarrel  with  the 
Academy ;  Reynolds'  resignation,  and  the  cause  of  it ;  his 
opinion  of  the  behaviour  of  the  Academy  to  him  ;  public 
opinion  on  the  matter  ;  reconciliation  effected,  and  resumption 
by  Reynolds  of  the  Chair  ;  his  last  appearance  as  President  .  28-43 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE   FIRST   EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS 

The  "  Obligation  "  or  Roll  of  Institution  ;  election  of  President  and 
Council,  Visitors,  Secretary,  and  Keeper ;  appointment  of 
Treasurer  and  Librarian  ;  composition  of  the  Council — Sir 
William  Chambers,  first  Treasurer ;  his  early  life  ;  his  con- 
nection with  the  Court ;  his  influence  in  the  Academy  ;  his 
work  as  an  architect  —  Francis  Milner  Newton,  first 
Secretary ;  his  performance  of  his  duties ;  his  life  and 
works — George  Michael  Moser,  first  Keeper ;  his  merits  as  a 
teacher ;  the  system  of  teaching  in  the  Academy  schools — 
Francis  Hayman,  first  Librarian  ;  his  art  ...  44-55 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   FIRST   PROFESSORS 

The  productive  and  the  critical  faculties  compared ;  the  uses  of 
teaching  by  lectures ;  election  of  the  Professors  of  Painting, 
Architecture,  Perspective,  and  Anatomy  ;  their  duties  ;  their 


CONTENTS  ix 

diplomas— Edward  Penny,  first  Professor  of  Painting;  his  PAOKS 
pictures  ;  influence  among  his  fellow-artists  —  Thomas 
Sandby,  first  Professor  of  Architecture ;  his  early  life ;  his 
work  as  an  architect  and  as  professor— Samuel  Wale,  first 
Professor  of  Perspective ;  early  water-colour  art  in  England ; 
Wale's  work  as  an  illustrator— Dr  William  Hunter,  first 
Professor  of  Anatomy ;  his  lectures  ....  56-67 


CHAPTER  VI 

THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH,  R.A. 

Reynolds  and  Gainsborough  the  two  greatest  artists  of  the 
eighteenth  century ;  early  life  and  education  of  Gains- 
borough ;  he  studies  art  in  London ;  his  portrait ;  his 
marriage  to  Margaret  Burr ;  establishes  himself  in  London  ; 
his  letter,  when  dying,  to  Reynolds  ;  his  character  compared 
with  that  of  Reynolds  ;  his  letters  to  William  Jackson,  the 
musician  ;  his  merits  as  an  artist  compared  with  those  of 
Reynolds ;  their  different  methods  of  working ;  his  land- 
scapes ;  Ruskin's  opinion  of  them ;  how  they  differ  from 
the  work  of  the  present-day  landscape  painter  ;  final  apprecia- 
tion of  him  .......  68-83 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  REMAINING  FOUNDATION   AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

Francesco  Bartolozzi ;  his  birth  and  art  education ;  comes 
to  England ;  his  reputation  as  an  engraver — Giovanni 
Battista  Cipriani ;  designs  the  diploma  and  gold  and  silver 
prize  medals — Agostino  Carlini ;  succeeds  Moser  as  Keeper — 
Francis  Cotes  ;  his  pictures ;  his  death  causes  first  vacancy 
in  the  Academy — George  Dance  ;  his  work  as  an  architect ; 
his  services  as  an  auditor  of  the  Academy  accounts — 
Nathaniel  Dance  ;  his  work  ;  resigns ;  is  made  a  Baronet — 
Mary  Moser,  flower  painter  —  Angelica  Kauffman  ;  her 

a  2 


CONTENTS 

claims  as  an  artist ;  her  early  life  and  first  marriage ;  her  PAOKS 
second  marriage,  and  residence  in  Rome  ;  her  death  and 
funeral ;  the  character  of  her  art— John  Inigo  Richards  ; 
elected  Secretary — Dominic  Serres  ;  elected  Librarian  ;  his 
sea-pieces — Richard  Wilson  ;  the  neglect  he  experienced  ; 
his  place  as  a  landscape  painter ;  his  visit  to  Italy ;  elected 
Librarian  ;  his  unhappy  life  ;  "  Peter  Pindar's  "  lines  on  him — 
Joseph  Wilton  ;  elected  Keeper  ;  executed  many  public  monu- 
ments— John  Baker,  painter  of  flower  pieces  and  heraldic 
subjects  on  coach  panels  —  George  Barret,  landscape 
painter  —  Charles  Catton,  landscape  and  coach  panel 
painter — Mason  Chamberlin,  portrait  painter — John  Gwynn, 
architect — Nathaniel  Hone,  portrait  painter  and  caricaturist — 
Jeremiah  Meyer,  miniature  painter ;  proposes  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Pension  Fund — Peter  Toms  ;  paints  draperies  and 
hands  for  Reynolds  and  others  —  William  Tyler,  architect ; 
appointed  Trustee  and  Auditor — Richard  Yeo,  medallist — 
Francesco  Zuccarelli,  landscape  painter — Paul  Sandby,  land- 
scape painter  ;  his  water-colours — William  Hoare,  portrait  and 
historical  painter — Johan  Zoffany  ;  birth  and  early  life  ;  rescued 
by  Garrick  from  obscurity ;  his  portrait  of  Garrick  as  Abel 
D  rugger ;  his  art;  his  visit  to  India  ....  84-109 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED   DURING  THE 
PRESIDENCY  OF  SIR  JOSHUA   REYNOLDS 

First  proposal  for  filling  up  vacancies  in  the  list  of 
Academicians  ;  institution  of  Associates  ;  Associates'  form  of 
obligation  and  diploma ;  Associate-engravers  ;  first  election 
of  Associate-engravers  and  Associates — Edward  Burch,  gem 
sculptor ;  appointed  Librarian — Richard  Cosway  ;  his  birth 
and  early  life  ;  his  remarkable  career ;  the  art  of  miniature 
painting ;  wherein  Cosway  differs  from  the  early  minia- 
turists ;  his  private  life  and  marriage  ;  last  years  and  death — 
Joseph  Nollekens  ;  his  success  as  a  sculptor ;  his  marriage 
and  life,  as  told  by  John  Thomas  Smith — James  Barry ; 
his  early  life  and  character ;  friendship  with  Edmund 
Burke  j  his  aspiratipns ;  life  in  Italy ;  ideas  on  Art ;  his 


CONTENTS  xi 

pictures  ;  elected  Professor  of  Painting  ;  abuses  the  members  PAGES 
of  the  Academy ;  is  expelled  and  his  name  struck  off  the 
Roll  by  George  III.;  his  last  years  and  death  —  William 
Peters  ;  gives  up  painting  as  a  profession,  and  is  ordained  ; 
appointed  Chaplain  to  the  Academy ;  resigns  it  and  his 
Academicianship  ;  later  years  and  death  .  .  .  110-131 


CHAPTER  IX 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED   DURING   THE   PRESIDENCY 
OF  SIR  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS — continued 

John  Bacon,  first  gold  medallist  in  sculpture — John  Singleton 
Copley  ;  his  origin  ;  his  art — Philip  James  de  Loutherbourg  ; 
his  impress  on  English  Art ;  the  qualities  of  his  art ;  his 
"Eidophusikon" — Edmund  Garvey,  landscape  painter — John 
Francis  Rigaud,  historical  painter — Thomas  Banks,  gold 
medallist  and  travelling  student  in  sculpture ;  his  art  and 
character — James  Wyatt  ;  his  work  as  an  architect ;  President- 
elect— Joseph  Farington  ;  his  active  share  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Academy — John  Opie  ;  is  brought  by  Dr  Wolcott 
to  London,  and  becomes  the  fashion  ;  his  art ;  his  proposal 
for  a  naval  monument ;  elected  Professor  of  Painting  ;  his 
private  life — James  Northcote  ;  becomes  a  pupil  of  Reynolds  ; 
his  pictures  and  character  —  William  Hodges,  landscape 
painter — John  Russell,  portrait  painter  in  crayons — William 
Hamilton,  portrait  and  historical  painter — Henry  Fuseli  ;  his 
history ;  elected  Professor  of  Painting,  and  Keeper ;  his 
accomplishments  and  art — John  Yenn,  gold  medallist  in 
architecture  ;  appointed  Treasurer — John  Webber,  landscape 
painter — Francis  Wheatley,  painter  of  rural  and  domestic 
subjects — Ozias  Humphrey,  portrait  painter  .  .  .132-150 

CHAPTER  X 

ASSOCIATES   ELECTED   DURING  THE   PRESIDENCY  OF  SIR 
JOSHUA  REYNOLDS   WHO   DID   NOT   BECOME  ACADEMICIANS 

The  Associate-engravers :  Thomas  Major,  the  first  elected  — 
Simon  FranQois  Ravenet — Pierre  Charles  Canot — John 


xii  CONTENTS 

Browne— Thomas  Chambers— Valentine  Green,  very  dis-  PAOW 
tinguished  mezzotint  engraver ;  his  works — Francis  Haward 
—Joseph  Collyer— James  Heath,  distinguished  line  engraver. 
The  Associates :  Edward  Stevens,  architect— George  James, 
portrait  painter — Elias  Martin,  oil  and  water-colour  painter 
of  various  subjects — Antonio  Zucchi,  painter  of  classical 
subjects ;  marries  Angelica  Kauffman  —  Michael  Angelo 
Rooker,  landscape  painter ;  did  views  of  the  Colleges  at 
Oxford  for  the  Oxford  Almanac  —  William  Pars,  painted 
portraits  and  made  drawings  of  old  temples  —  Nicholas 
Thomas  Dall,  landscape  painter— Biagio  Rebecca,  decorated 
some  of  the  Academy  rooms  at  Somerset  House — William 
Tomkins,  landscape  and  still-life  painter — Stephen  Elmer, 
dead  game  and  still-life  painter  —  Edward  Edwards ; 
painted  scriptural  and  classical  subjects ;  elected  Teacher 
of  Perspective  —  William  Parry,  portrait  painter  —  John 
Hamilton  Mortimer,  portrait  and  subject  painter ;  his  picture 
at  the  Academy  —  James  Nixon,  portrait  and  miniature 
painter  —  Horace  Hone,  miniature  painter — George  Stubbs  ; 
his  sporting  pictures  ;  his  drawings  for  the  "Anatomy  of  the 
Horse";  elected  Academician,  but  never  received  diploma — 
Joseph  Wright  (of  Derby) ;  his  portraits  and  subject  pictures  ; 
his  differences  with  the  Academy  ;  elected  Academician,  but 
declined— Joseph  Bonomi,  architect  ....  151-166 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   PRESIDENCY  OF   BENJAMIN   WEST 

Death  and  funeral  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  ;  English  Art  in  the 
eighteenth  century ;  the  position  of  the  Academy  at  the 
death  of  Reynolds ;  its  exhibitions,  schools,  and  charities  ; 
address  to  George  III.  on  its  twenty-fifth  anniversary;  the 
dispute  between  Henry  Tresham,  R.A.,  and  the  Academy ; 
his  appeal  to  George  III.,  and  the  latter^  decision;  law  as 
to  the  constitution  of  the  Council ;  dispute  between  the 
Council  and  the  General  Assembly  as  to  the  appointment  of 
Committees;  George  III.  appealed  to;  his  decision  in 
favour  of  the  Council ;  the  episode  of  West's  picture  of 


CONTENTS  xiii 

"Hagar  and  Ishmael";  the  finances  of  the  Academy;  PAaES 
pensions  to  members  and  their  widows ;  donations  to 
exhibitors  (non-members)  and  their  widows ;  control  over 
finances  of  George  III.;  changes  in  the  schools;  period  of 
studentship  ;  the  Exhibition  and  "  Varnishing  Days " ;  Prince 
Hoare  and  his  Academic  Annals  j  the  British  Institution  ;  the 
Water-colour  Society ;  Dulwich  Picture  Gallery ;  its  con- 
nection with  the  Academy  ;  estimation  in  which  the  Academy 
was  held  ....  ...  167-184 


CHAPTER  XII 

BENJAMIN   WEST  AND  THE   ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS 
ELECTED   DURING   HIS   PRESIDENCY 

Election  of  a  successor  to  Reynolds ;  West's  birth  and  ancestry ; 
his  early  life  in  America  ;  settles  in  London  ;  is  patronised 
by  George  III. ;  his  pictures  ;  his  intercourse  with  George  III.  ; 
refuses  knighthood ;  his  popularity  as  President ;  his  resig- 
nation and  subsequent  re-election  ;  story  of  Fuseli  and  Mary 
Moser  ;  West's  funeral — Robert  Smirke  ;  his  works  ;  rejection 
by  George  III.  of  his  election  as  Keeper — Sir  Peter  Francis 
Bourgeois,  landscape  painter ;  donor  of  the  Dulwich  Gallery 
pictures  —  Thomas  Stothard ;  his  character  and  works ; 
elected  Librarian ;  designed  the  reverse  of  the  prize  gold 
medals — Richard  Westall ;  his  work  as  an  illustrator ;  taught 
Queen  Victoria  drawing  —  John  Hoppner,  portrait  painter ; 
his  birth ;  merits  as  a  painter — Sawrey  Gilpin,  painter  of 
horses  —  Sir  William  Beechey,  portrait  painter  —  Hemy 
Tresham ;  claims  his  seat  on  the  Council ;  elected  Professor 
of  Painting — Thomas  Daniell,  painter  of  Indian  subjects — 
John  Flaxman,  sculptor  ;  a  native-born  artistic  genius ;  his 
art  as  affected  by  his  personality ;  his  merit  as  a  designer  ; 
Wedgwood  pottery ;  Flaxman's  early  life  and  marriage ; 
sojourn  at  Rome ;  his  works  in  sculpture ;  elected  Professor 
of  Sculpture  ;  Flaxman  and  Turner  compared  .  .  .  185-210 


xiv  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED   DURING  THE   PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN  WEST — continued 

PA  on 

Joseph  Mallord  William  Turner ;  his  first  exhibited  drawing ; 
his  personal  appearance ;  his  early  art  training ;  his 
conception  of  the  true  relation  between  Nature  and  Art ; 
illustrations  of  this  in  his  works ;  the  variety  of  his 
imagination,  especially  as  shown  in  his  water-colour 
drawings ;  his  later  works ;  their  exaggerated  effects  of 
light;  "The  Fighting  TMraire" ;  his  last  days,  death, 
and  funeral ;  was  he  a  disappointed  man  ?  his  affection  for 
the  Royal  Academy ;  his  love  of  mystery ;  his  will ;  its 
original  provisions ;  the  codicils  ;  decision  of  the  Court  of 
Chancery ;  employment  by  the  Royal  Academy  of  the  sum 
allotted  to  it  .  .  .  .  .  .  211-227 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED   DURING   THE   PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN  WEST — continued 

Sir  John  Soane,  architect ;  the  Soane  Museum ;  obtains  the 
travelling  studentship  in  architecture,  and  goes  to  Italy ; 
his  work  as  an  architect  ;  elected  Professor  of  Architecture ; 
his  dispute  with  the  Academy  about  his  lectures ;  his 
treatment  of  his  son  ;  his  offer  to  contribute  towards  the 
purchase  of  Sir  T.  Lawrence's  old-master  drawings  —  John 
Charles  Felix  Rossi,  gold  medallist  and  travelling  student  in 
sculpture  ;  his  monuments  in  St  Paul's  ;  gets  into  difficulties 
and  receives  a  pension — Henry  Thomson,  historical  painter ; 
elected  Keeper ;  his  letter  on  his  retirement ;  his  gifts — 
William  Owen  ;  his  success  as  a  portrait  painter ;  his  art — 
Samuel  Woodforde,  historical  painter — Henry  Howard,  gold 
medallist  in  painting ;  elected  Secretary  and  Professor  of 
Painting ;  his  academic  art ;  gains  one  of  the  Westminster 


CONTENTS  xv 

Cartoon    premiums  —  Thomas     Phillips ;    his    portraits     of        PAQES 

eminent  men  ;  elected  Professor  of  Painting ;  the  character 

of  his  art — Nathaniel  Marchant,  gem  engraver ;  his  diploma 

work  .  .   228-246 


CHAPTER  XV 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED  DURING  THE   PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN  WEST — continued 

Sir  Augustus  Wall  Callcott ;  his  connection  with  Kensington ; 
abandons  music  for  painting,  first  portraits,  then  landscape  ; 
his  success  as  a  landscape  painter ;  Lady  Callcott  —  Sir 
David  Wilkie  ;  his  early  life  in  Scotland  ;  arrival  in  London, 
and  success ;  his  early  pictures ;  visits  Spain ;  change  in 
his  method  of  painting  ;  his  personality ;  death  and  burial  at 
sea  —  James  Ward ;  his  early  life  ;  influence  on  him  of 
Morland ;  his  pictures ;  his  account  of  two  Welsh  fasting 
women  ;  his  contributions  to  Exhibitions  —  Sir  Richard 
Westmacott ;  his  work  as  a  sculptor ;  elected  Professor  of 
Sculpture  —  Sir  Robert  Smirke  ;  his  work  as  an  architect ; 
character  of  modern  architecture  ;  appointed  Treasurer ; 
resigns  office  and  Academicianship  —  Henry  Bone,  enamel 
and  miniature  painter  ;  the  series  of  portraits  executed  by 
him  —  Philip  Reinagle,  painter  of  portraits  and  sporting 
subjects  ........  247-268 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS   ELECTED  DURING  THE   PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN  WEST — continued 

William  Theed,  sculptor — George  Dawe ;  his  early  life  and  great 
industry  ;  becomes  a  portrait  painter,  and  executes  many 
commissions  abroad,  especially  at  St  Petersburg  ;  his 
character  —  William  Redmore  Bigg ;  the  subjects  of  his 
pictures  —  Edward  Bird  ;  his  pictures  and  rapid  success — 
Sir  Henry  Raeburn  ;  his  early  life  in  Edinburgh  j  marriage 


xvi  CONTENTS 

and  visit  to  Rome  ;  return  to  Edinburgh,  and  election  to  the  PAOBS 
Academy  ;  his  portraits,  and  rank  as  a  painter  —  William 
Mulready ;  his  early  years  ;  devotion  to  study,  and  rapid 
rise  ;  proposes  the  abolition  of  the  "  Varnishing  Days "  ;  his 
pictures  —  Alfred  Edward  Chalon  ;  his  early  life  and  work  ; 
founds  with  his  brother  the  Sketching  Club  ;  personal  char- 
acteristics —  John  Jackson  ;  his  early  life  ;  his  portraits,  and 
rapid  method  of  work  —  Sir  Francis  Legatt  Chantrey  ;  his 
birth  and  early  life  ;  comes  to  London  ;  marries  ;  his  work 
as  a  sculptor ;  his  will ;  the  Chantrey  Bequest  —  William 
Hilton;  subjects  of  his  pictures;  elected  Keeper  —  Abraham 
Cooper,  painter  of  horses  and  battle  pictures ;  known  as 
"Horse  Cooper  "—William  Collins  ;  his  early  life  and  trials; 
his  pictures  ;  elected  Librarian  .....  269-293 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ASSOCIATES   ELECTED   DURING   THE   PRESIDENCY  OF 
BENJAMIN    WEST   WHO   DID   NOT   BECOME  ACADEMICIANS 

John  Downman,  portrait  painter  —  Anker  Smith,  engraver — 
George  Garrard,  animal  painter  —  James  Fittler,  engraver — 
Joseph  Gandy,  architect — Theophilus  Clarke,  portrait  painter — 
John  Landseer,  engraver ;  urges  the  claims  of  engravers  to 
full  membership  —  Archer  James  Oliver,  portrait  painter — 
Samuel  Drummond,  portrait  and  subject  painter  —  George 
Arnald,  landscape  and  marine  painter  —  William  Westall, 
landscape  painter — George  Francis  Joseph,  portrait  painter — 
William  Ward,  engraver — Washington  Allston  ;  his  parentage 
and  early  career  ;  comes  to  England  ;  his  return  to 
America — William  Bromley,  engraver  ....  294-302 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

SIR   THOMAS   LAWRENCE   AND   HIS   PRESIDENCY 

Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  ;  his  parents  and  early  life  ;  his  precocity ; 
portrait  painting  at  Bath  as  a  youth  ;  comes  to  London,  and 
enters  th^  Academy  schools ;  becomes  the  fashionable 


CONTENTS  xvii 

portrait  painter ;  difficulties  over  his  election  as  an  PAGES 
Associate ;  full  member  at  twenty-five  years  old ;  ladies' 
dress  at  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century ;  historic 
portraits  in  the  Waterloo  Gallery  at  Windsor  Castle ;  is 
elected  President ;  illness,  death,  and  funeral ;  his  portraits 
and  method  of  painting ;  the  election  of  Lawrence  as 
President ;  presentation  of  gold  medal  and  chain  by  George 
IV. ;  urges  the  formation  of  a  National  Gallery  ;  takes  a 
great  interest  in  the  endeavours  to  establish  the  Royal 
Hibernian  and  the  Royal  Scottish  Academies  ;  great  supporter 
of  charitable  societies  for  artists ;  his  collection  of  old- 
master  drawings  and  architectural  casts ;  changes  during 
his  Presidency ;  the  Honorary  Officers  ;  the  annual  dinner  .  303-314 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS,  AND  ASSOCIATES  WHO  DID  NOT 
BECOME  ACADEMICIANS,  ELECTED  DURING  THE  PRESI- 
DENCY OF  SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE 

Royal  Academicians  :  Edward  Hodges  Baily,  gold  medallist  in 
sculpture ;  his  work ;  is  placed  on  the  retired  list— Richard 
Cook,  painter  of  classical  subjects  —  W.  Daniell,  landscape 
painter  —  Ramsay  Richard  Reinagle,  landscape  and  animal 
painter  ;  is  required  to  resign — Sir  Jeffry  Wyatville,  architect ; 
his  work  at  Windsor  Castle — George  Jones,  battle  painter ; 
elected  Librarian  and  then  Keeper  ;  acts  as  Deputy-President ; 
story  of  him  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington — William  Wilkins, 
architect;  his  works  —  Charles  Robert  Leslie;  his  early  life 
in  America  ;  comes  to  England  ;  the  subjects  of  his  pictures  ; 
is  appointed  Drawing  Master  at  the  West  Point  Military 
Academy,  but  soon  returns  to  England ;  his  share  in  the 
business  of  the  Academy ;  elected  Professor  of  Painting  ;  his 
literary  skill ;  tribute  to  him  by  Thackeray — Henry  William 
Pickersgill,  portrait  painter  ;  elected  Librarian — William  Etty  ; 
his  early  years  ;  his  work  in  the  schools  as  student  and  then 
visitor ;  his  pictures  and  their  subjects — John  Constable ;  his 
choice  of  a  profession  ;  his  early  pictures  ;  the  prices  paid  to 


xviii  CONTENTS 

him  for  his  pictures  and  those  now  obtained  in  the  auction  PAOES 
room ;  his  tardy  promotion ;  mortification  at  want  of 
success,  and  sensitiveness  to  criticism.  Associates  :  Henry 
Edridge,  miniature  and  landscape  painter  —  George  Clint, 
dramatic  portrait  painter  ;  his  resignation  —  Francis  Danby, 
landscape  painter ;  his  art  —  Richard  James  Lane,  engraver 
— Charles  Turner,  engraver  —  Speech  of  the  Prince  Consort 
at  the  annual  dinner  in  1851  ;  continued  patronage  of  the 
Academy  by  the  Crown  .  .  .  .  .  -315-341 


APPENDICES    ........     343398 


INDEX  .........  399 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

H.M.   KING  GEORGE  III.,  BY  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS,  P.R.A.         Frontispiece 
SIR  J.  REYNOLDS,  P.R.A.,  BY  HIMSELF     .  .  .  to  face  page    14 

THE  DIPLOMA  OF  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS  „  30 

SOMERSET  HOUSE  IN  1781,  showing  the  part  of  the  building 
occupied  by  the  Royal  Academy,  from  an  Engraving  by 
T.  Malton  ........  48 

THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH,  R.A.,  BY  HIMSELF  „  68 

ENGRAVING  OF  RAMBERG'S  DRAWING  OF  THE  EXHIBI- 
TION OF  1787  .  .  .  .  .  .  „  1 10 

THE  ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS  IN  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY, 
UNDER  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST,  IN 
1802,  BY  HENRY  SINGLETON  ....,,166 

KEY  TO  THE  ABOVE  ......  to  face  the  above 

BENJAMIN  WEST,  P.R.A.,  BY  HIMSELF      .  .  .  to  face  page  184 

JOSEPH  MALLORD  WILLIAM  TURNER,  from  the  Portrait 
by  Charles  Turner,  A.E.R.A.,  in  the  possession  of 
Mr  C.  Mallord  W.  Turner  .  .  .  .  „  200 

SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE,  P.R.A.,  BY  HIMSELF     .  .         „          304 


xix 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ROYAL 
ACADEMY 

CHAPTER    I 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

ART,  as  George  Henry  Lewes  says,  to  reach  the  height 
of  perfection,  must  have  the  co-operation  of  the  nation 
with  individual  genius.  When  it  became  acclimatised  in 
this  country  and  began  to  be  practised  by  Englishmen  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  it  certainly  had  no  such  co-operation. 
That  eighteenth  century,  so  admirable  and  yet  so  ridiculous, 
so  amusing,  so  instructive,  so  irritating,  and  so  contemp- 
tible, so  paradoxical  and  contradictory,  so  provokingly  clever 
and  so  engagingly  wicked,  of  which  Carlyle  speaks  as  "  massed 
up  in  our  mind  as  a  disastrous  wrecked  inanity  not  useful 
to  dwell  upon,"  would  seem  to  have  possessed  none  of  those 
delicate  and  sensitive  fibres  of  thought,  no  traces  of  the 
luxurious  aesthetic  contemplativeness  which  we  imagine  to 
be  necessary  for  success  in  the  Fine  Arts.  We  contem- 
plate it  from  this  distance  of  time  and  its  scenes  pass  before 
us  as  in  a  diorama.  We  see  old  London  with  its  narrow 
streets  and  noisome  kennels,  its  signs,  its  coffee-houses 
and  clubs,  its  theatre  at  Drury  Lane,  its  bull-baitings  at 
Smithfield,  the  ladies  on  the  Mall,  the  fops  in  sedan  chairs  being 
conveyed  to  Button's  or  to  Ranelagh,  the  watchmen  with  their 
poles  and  lanterns,  the  Mohawks  scouring  the  streets,  and  roll- 
1  A 


2     FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

ing  old  women  in  tubs  down  Ludgate  Hill,  the  orchestras  of 
marrow-bones  and  cleavers,  the  Lord  Mayor  going  to  Guildhall 
in  his  coach,  and  the  highwayman  with  a  nosegay  in  his  hand 
journeying  in  a  cart  to  Tyburn  to  be  hanged.  There  is  my 
Lord  Harvey  yearning  in  Kensington  Palace  for  his  club,  as 
isolated  as  if  he  were  on  a  rock  in  mid-ocean,  between  him  and 
London  an  impassable  sea  of  mud.  Thousands  of  interesting 
scenes  and  amusing  incidents  have  been  preserved  for  our  con- 
templation in  the  most  fascinating  literature  in  the  world ;  and 
the  general  impression  they  convey  is  of  frivolity,  coarseness, 
and  brutality.  Art  with  all  its  refining  influences,  its  sublimities 
and  its  gran  gusto>  was  much  discussed  by  connoisseurs,  but  it 
was  considered  the  exclusive  product  of  Italy  ;  Guido,  Guercino, 
the  Carracci,  and  Raphael,  though  according  to  Horace  Walpole 
he  was  inferior  to  Luca  Giordano  in  draperies,  were  considered 
to  have  said  the  last  word  on  that  subject,  and  all  that  was 
necessary  to  pass  for  a  man  of  refinement  was  to  be  able  to  talk 
about  them.  No  one  seems  to  have  dreamt  that  Art  could  be 
what  it  once  had  been,  the  natural  and  spontaneous  expression 
of  the  ideas  which  were  uppermost  in  men's  minds,  which  every 
one  was  thinking ;  that  in  fact  a  nation  had  once  "  co-operated 
with  individual  genius."  When  a  man  was  required  to  express 
himself  elegantly  and  artistically,  he  imported  his  style  from 
abroad  ;  when  he  spoke  naturally  he  did  it  quite  differently. 
Sir  John  Vanbrugh  when  on  the  high  horse  built  Blenheim  ;  in 
his  natural  and  homely  way  he  wrote  the  "  Relapse,  or  Virtue 
in  Danger."  In  polite  circles  the  works  of  Dutch  painters,  of 
Ostade  and  Teniers,  were  held  up  to  execration  as  vulgar  and 
degrading  by  men  who  did  the  most  horrible  things,  who  began 
their  dinners  with  pudding  and  ended  them  with  fish,  who  ate 
veal  pie  with  prunes,  and  mixed  beer,  punch,  and  wine  together, 
and  who  moreover  were  always  carried  home  to  bed. 

In  short,  we  may  say  that  at  the  commencement  of  the 
eighteenth  century  in  England,  there  was  no  taste  or  feeling  for 
Art  whatever ;  that  the  nation  had  not  reached  that  particular 


EARLY  ART  IN  ENGLAND  3 

degree  or  kind  of  refinement,  which  makes  Art  a  natural  and 
spontaneous  expression  of  ideas. 

Writers  on  Art  will  not  let  us  alone  with  it,  in  its  most  simple 
and  obvious  function,  as  an  imitation  of  some  concrete  reality, 
as  a  language  for  expressing  ideas  ;  that  is  not  exalted  or  intel- 
lectual enough.  It  must  be  the  handmaid  of  religion,  the 
outcome  of  the  sense  of  the  beautiful,  or,  confusion  worse 
confounded,  the  expression  of  philosophical  ideas.  In  its  origin 
in  this  country,  at  all  events,  it  was  none  of  these  things.  Our 
hard-swearing,  hard-drinking  ancestors  of  the  time  of  William 
III.  and  Queen  Anne  cared  little  for  religion,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
and  less  for  the  beautiful  or  the  philosophical ;  the  beauty  they 
worshipped  was  not  of  the  abstract  kind,  and  their  philosophy 
came  to  them  as  a  sorry  compensation  for  satiety.  But  they 
loved  to  see  themselves  reproduced  by  the  hand  of  the  artist.  It 
was  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  them  to  think  that  this  skilful 
hand  could  make  visible  to  posterity  the  features  of  a  certain 
knight  of  the  shire,  custos  rotulorum,  or  justice  of  the  peace,  as 
he  lived  and  moved  amongst  men  on  earth,  and  they  were  ready 
to  pay  him  golden  guineas  to  realise  that  laudable  aspiration. 
From  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  England  had  been  a  fertile  field  for 
the  portraitist,  and  as  native  artists  were  wanting  foreigners  had 
stepped  in.  As  late  as  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it 
appeared  consistent  to  Horace  Walpole  to  pen  these  lines,  "  It 
would  be  difficult  perhaps  to  assign  a  physical  reason  why  a 
nation  that  produced  Shakespeare  should  owe  its  glory  in 
another  walk  of  genius  to  Holbein  and  Vandyke."  Native 
artists,  however,  and  artists  of  eminence,  had  not  been  wanting 
since  the  days  of  Elizabeth.  There  were  the  limners  who 
practised  miniature  painting,  a  beautiful  art  which  has,  alas ! 
been  asphyxiated  by  collodion  and  nitrate  of  silver.  Nicholas 
Hilliard,  William  and  Francis  Segar,  Isaac  and  Peter  Oliver,  Sir 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  Sir  Robert  Peake,  and  Samuel  Cooper,  are 
all  noteworthy  names  ;  the  works  of  Hilliard,  Isaac  Oliver,  and 
Cooper  are  of  great  beauty. 


4     FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

When  Van  Dyck  was  painting  at  the  Court  of  Charles  I.,  his 
attention  was  attracted  by  a  picture  he  saw  in  a  shop  in  Snow 
Hill ;  its  merit  appeared  to  him  so  great  that  he  took  the 
trouble  to  seek  out  the  artist,  whom  he  found  at  work  in  a  miser- 
able garret :  this  man's  name  was  William  Dobson.  Van  Dyck, 
to  his  great  honour  be  it  recorded,  rescued  this  man  of  genius 
from  the  penury  and  obscurity  in  which  he  was  struggling, 
introduced  him  at  Court,  and  procured  him  employment. 
Dobson  succeeded  his  generous  patron  as  sergeant-painter  to 
the  king.  Both  the  king  and  the  office  of  sergeant-painter 
were  done  away  with,  as  we  know,  and  Dobson,  so  it  is  said, 
took  to  drinking  and  died. 

Isaac  Fuller,  who  died  in  1672,  studied  in  France,  and  copied 
plaster  casts,  acquiring  thereby  a  hard  manner ;  he  was  the  first 
Englishman  to  attempt  the  grand  style,  and  painted  altar-pieces 
for  two  or  three  colleges  at  Oxford. 

John  Riley,  his  pupil,  is  highly  spoken  of  by  Walpole ;  he 
was  a  diffident,  retiring  man,  and  did  not  get  on  as  well  as  he 
might  have  done ;  he  got  the  length,  however,  of  being  court- 
painter  to  William  and  Mary,  and  had  Jonathan  Richardson  for 
a  pupil,  of  whom  there  is  more  to  be  said.  In  fact,  there  is  a 
very  great  deal  that  is  pertinent  to  this  subject  to  be  said  of  this 
man  Jonathan  Richardson.  He  was  in  every  sense  a  fine  fellow, 
lived  a  noble  life,  was  wise,  sober,  industrious,  and  God-fearing. 
The  example  of  that  life,  his  sound  sense,  his  stubborn  refusal  to 
dissociate  the  beautiful  from  the  good,  his  zeal  for  Art,  the  honest 
bursts  of  enthusiasm  which  escaped  in  his  writings — all  the 
influence,  in  fact,  which  he  spread  around,  were  destined  to  fall 
like  seed  upon  the  stream  of  time,  and  eventually  to  revive  in 
more  splendid  growth.  He  stands  to  Reynolds  as  cause  to  effect. 
It  was  reading  the  "  Treatise  on  Painting "  which  fired  the 
ambition  of  the  Plympton  schoolmaster's  son,  and  fixed  the  bent 
of  his  inclinations.  The  "  Discourses,"  with  a  wide  difference  in 
experience  and  culture,  are  one  and  the  same  thing  with  the 
Treatise  as  far  as  inspiration  goes ;  some  passages  are  identical 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  ART  IN  ENGLAND     5 

in  both,  and  we  may  also  fairly  trace  the  virtues  which  adorned 
the  life  of  the  first  President  of  the  Royal  Academy  to  influences 
derived  from  the  same  source.  But  this  is  not  all :  when  young 
Reynolds  came  up  to  London,  a  mild  and  very  good  boy,  he  was 
put  under  Thomas  Hudson  ;  we  can  imagine  that  his  placid 
temperament  was  stirred  up  to  an  unusual  red  glow  of  excite- 
ment to  find  that  his  master  was  a  pupil,  his  master's  wife  actu- 
ally the  daughter,  of  the  great  prophet  whose  words  had  sent 
him  forth  on  his  enterprising  journey  :  in  his  master's  studio  he 
must  have  heard  a  good  deal  about  Richardson,  and  that,  about 
one  who  even  lives  in  history  as  a  good  man,  was  doubtless  not 
thrown  away.  The  artistic  grandfather  of  the  greatest  of  Eng- 
lish portrait  painters  boasted  that  in  his  day  England  already 
possessed  the  best  school  of  "  face  painting  "  then  existing,  and 
ventured  to  predict  that  English  painters  would  some  day 
become  eminent  in  other  branches  of  the  Art.  Peace  be  to  the 
shade  of  honest  Jonathan  !  If  it  be  permitted  to  the  eyes  of  the 
just  made  perfect  to  pierce  the  circumambient  ether  to  where 
this  insignificant  planet  swings  round  upon  its  orbit,  though  he 
may  have  attained  a  state  of  perfect  existence  where  all  vanity 
shall  have  passed  away,  it  may  gratify  him  to  observe  that  his 
prediction  has  been  fulfilled. 

Art  may  be  said  to  have  been  permanently  established  on 
English  soil  when  George  I.  took  possession  of  the  throne.  It 
was  essentially  a  graft  and  not  an  indigenous  product :  it  had 
had  no  childhood.  Unlike  the  arts  of  Italy,  which  passed  from 
the  pure  symbolism  of  Cimabue  and  Giotto,  through  the  nai've 
and  artless  realism  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  then  attained 
through  the  influence  of  the  antique  to  its  ultimate  union  of 
symbolism  with  realism,  to  the  most  imaginative,  the  most 
erudite  and  highly-organised  phase  that  Art  has  ever  attained 
to — namely,  that  of  the  Renaissance — English  Art  at  its  com- 
mencement started  on  a  highly-organised  basis.  It  derived 
from  Van  Dyck,  an  eclectic  who  had  seen  and  studied  every- 
thing, who  had  subdued  his  realism  into  subjection  to  arbitrary 


6    FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

canons  of  criticism,  who  had  learnt  the  ultimate  lesson,  the 
password  of  grand-master — namely,  what  was  essential  and  to 
be  rendered,  and  what  unessential  and  to  be  omitted.  The 
English  art  of  painting  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  nothing 
less  than  realistic  :  it  was  not  exactly  artificial,  though  it  had  a 
smack  of  it — it  was  artisticated,  to  coin  a  horrible  word. 
Hogarth,  who  painted  scenes  of  actual  life  in  London — things 
he  had  seen — did  not  paint  them  as  he  had  seen  them ;  he 
artisticated  them,  he  made  them  pass  through  an  infusion  of 
Watteau  and  Callot,  and  in  the  same  way  the  landscapes  of 
Gainsborough  and  Wilson  had  evidently  been  subjected  to 
Rubens  and  Claude.  The  dilettanti  and  the  connoisseurs  had  in 
reality  nothing  to  do  with  the  foundation  of  English  Art ;  all 
they  did  was  to  talk  big  about  Italians  indiscriminately.  English 
art  grew  up  out  of  the  necessities  of  the  hour,  obeyed  the  laws 
of  supply  and  demand,  and  was  thoroughly  healthy  and  sound  ; 
but  the  big  talking  had  some  effect.  It  was  long  before  Nature 
was  taken  into  confidence,  before  she  was  trusted  to  impart 
anything  worth  knowing — more  than  a  century  ;  and  now  it 
has  come  to  pass — such  are  the  strange  oscillations  of  the  human 
mind — we  take  everything  the  garrulous  old  dame  says  as 
gospel. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  English 
artists  had  no  analytic  training ;  they  attacked  their  artistic 
problem  as  a  whole,  looked  at  pictures,  inspired  themselves  and 
tried  to  do  like  them.  They  were  not  built  up  in  sections, 
neatly  fitted,  such  as  the  drawing  from  the  antique  section,  the 
drawing  from  the  life  section,  the  composition  section,  and  so 
forth  :  the  Art  was  not  dissected  before  them  into  its  constituent 
parts ;  they  failed  to  acquire  a  very  great  deal,  but  it  must  be 
confessed  that  they  managed  to  retain  a  very  great  deal  of 
vitality.  The  want  of  scientific  training  was  felt  on  all  sides, 
and  various  efforts  were  made  to  supply  it.  The  first  was  by 
Sir  James  Thornhill  in  his  house  in  the  Piazza,  Covent  Garden. 
Hogarth  had  in  his  early  days  worked  for  him,  but,  having 


HOGARTH'S  ACADEMY  7 

committed  the  enormity  of  eloping  with  his  daughter,  had  been 
cut  and  seen  no  more  until  the  publication  of  the  "  Harlot's 
Progress"  softened  the  big  man  into  a  reluctant  toleration  of 
the  impudent  young  painter  of  low  life.  Time,  the  incorrigible 
old  mower,  must  stride  along  with  Ihis  tongue  in  his  cheek ; 
here  was  big-wigged,  pompous  Sir  James  Thornhill,  knight  of 
the  shire  for  Melcombe  Regis,  and  sergeant-painter  to  the 
king,  indignant  beyond  measure  because  his  daughter  had 
married  a  low  engraver,  whose  sisters  kept  a  shop  for  dimity, 
fustian,  and  other  horrible  things  in  Little  Britain :  and,  lo 
and  behold !  but  for  that  circumstance  we  at  this  distance 
would  never  have  heard  of  him.  He  died,  did  Sir  James 
Thornhill,  and  his  academy  with  him.  He  was  probably  a 
man  of  talent,  but  his  mistake  was  one  not  peculiar  to  England 
or  the  eighteenth  century ;  he  attempted  to  be  a  great  artist 
by  programme,  not  by  the  way  of  nature  and  the  ordering  of 
circumstances.  In  his  case  perhaps  it  made  little  matter,  but 
later,  as  we  shall  see,  the  same  error  ruined  a  man  of  real 
genius,  namely,  Benjamin  West. 

After  the  death  of  Sir  James  Thornhill  a  new  school  of  Art, 
or  academy  as  it  was  called,  was  opened  in  St  Martin's  Lane, 
in  1734.  Hogarth  was  a  prime  mover  in  this  new  undertaking ; 
it  was  supported  by  annual  subscription  and  governed  by  a  com- 
mittee, and  it  continued  to  flourish  as  a  school  for  the  study  of 
the  nude  figure  for  thirty  years. 

Meanwhile  the  Dilettanti  Society  started  a  project  for 
creating  "  a  public  academy  for  the  improvement  of  painting, 
sculpture,  and  architecture,"  which  was  to  "have  a  certain 
number  of  professors,  with  proper  authority,  in  order  to  making 
regulations,  taking  subscriptions,  etc.,  erecting  a  building,  in- 
structing students ; "  and  proposed  to  elect  "  thirteen  painters, 
three  sculptors,  one  chaser,  two  engravers,  and  two  architects, 
in  all  twenty-one,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid."  This  scheme 
fell  through.  Hogarth  wrote  a  very  characteristic  letter  on  the 
subject,  given  in  Ireland's  "  Hogarth  Illustrated."  "  Portrait- 


8     FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

painting,"  he  says,  "ever  has  and  ever  will  succeed  better  in 
this  country  than  in  any  other.  The  demand  will  be  as  con- 
stant as  new  forces  arise ;  and  with  this  we  must  be  contented, 
for  it  will  be  vain  to  attempt  to  force  what  can  never  be 
accomplished,  at  least  by  such  institutions  as  royal  academies 
on  the  system  now  in  agitation."  Wait  a  bit,  Mr  Hogarth,  you 
are  running  on  a  little  too  fast  with  your  "  never."  He  then 
proceeds  to  describe  all  the  obstacles  to  success  in  the  arts  in 
England — among  others  its  religion,  which  forbids  the  worship 
of  images  ;  and  follows  with  this,  to  us  astounding  reason,  that 
"  Europe  is  already  overstocked  with  the  works  of  other  ages  " ; 
these,  with  the  copies,  he  considers  quite  sufficient  for  the 
demands  of  the  curious. 

It  was  evidently  not  given  even  to  one  of  the  shrewdest 
men  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  project  his  spirit  into  the 
future,  and  to  guess  what  might  possibly  be  the  capacity  for 
absorption  on  the  part  of  the  curious  or  for  production  on  the 
part  of  the  artist.  What  are  all  the  old  masters,  with  the 
copies,  compared  with  the  "modern  pictures"  with  which 
Europe  is  now  infested  ;  and  who  shall  say  that  the  final  limit 
has  yet  been  attained  ?  But  artists  appear  at  all  times  to  have 
been  a  genus  irritabile  vatum.  Have  we  not  heard  them 
complain  that  the  world  in  general  was  carried  away  by  the 
desire  of  making  fortunes,  to  the  great  detriment  of  Art,  which 
requires  that  people  should  sit  still  and  contemplate  the  beauti- 
ful— on  bread  and  cheese  and  beer,  no  doubt  ? 

But  in  spite  of  Hogarth's  jeremiads,  Art  went  on  spreading. 
Essays  were  published  insisting  on  the  necessity  of  a  Royal 
Academy ;  busybodies,  who  had  something  to  suggest  or  had 
not,  made  themselves  audible  on  every  side ;  committees  were 
appointed,  one  in  1755  which  numbered  among  its  twenty-five 
members,  Francis  Hayman,  Joshua  Reynolds,  Thomas  Sandby, 
G.  M.  Moser,  Louis  F.  Roubiliac,  and  F.  M.  Newton  as  Secre- 
tary. This  plan,  which  proposed  the  establishment  of  a  "  Royal 
Academy  of  London,  for  the  improvement  of  painting,  sculpture, 


FIRST  EXHIBITION  IN  ENGLAND  9 

and  architecture"  to  consist  of  "a  president,  thirty  directors, 
fellows,  and  scholars,"  also  failed  ;  the  Dilettanti  Society  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  any  scheme  unless  they  "bossed"  it, 
as  the  modern  phrase  has  it,  and  the  public  was  apathetic.  The 
Duke  of  Richmond  opened  his  gallery  of  antiques  to  artists, 
under  the  management  of  Cipriani  for  drawing,  and  Wilton 
for  modelling ;  but  this  too  came  to  an  untimely  end.  The 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  all  these  undertakings  had  been  the  old 
and  familiar  one  of  want  of  means  ;  state  subsidy  was  not  prac- 
ticable, there  seemed  no  way  of  making  a  National  academy 
self-subsisting,  and  it  was  accident  which  at  length  revealed 
the  secret. 

An  exhibition  of  pictures  got  together  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Foundling  Hospital  attracted  such  crowds  of  spectators,  that 
the  idea  suggested  itself  to  the  British  artists  to  hold  an  annual 
exhibition  of  their  works,  and  charge  for  admission.  The  pro- 
blem was  solved.  That  charitable  exhibition  in  Great  Coram 
Street  was  the  germ  of  the  Royal  Academy.  It  made  clear  at 
once  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  state  subsidy,  for  subscrip- 
tions, or  for  any  complicated  machinery ;  the  pictures  could  pay 
for  the  teaching :  and  the  first  experiment,  the  exhibition  held 
in  1760  in  the  rooms  of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement 
of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce,  in  the  Strand,  opposite 
Beaufort  Buildings,  where  nothing  was  charged  for  admission, 
but  a  price  of  sixpence  for  a  catalogue,  enabled  the  artists  to 
invest  as  net  proceeds  one  hundred  pounds  in  the  three  per 
cent,  consols.  One  hundred  and  thirty  pictures  exhibited  by 
sixty-nine  artists  produced  a  net  profit  of  one  hundred  pounds. 
That  was  a  very  remarkable  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  recorded  in  history ;  it  revealed  a  new 
source  of  wealth,  a  money-making  power  hitherto  unknown. 
Annual  exhibitions  of  pictures  under  such  promising  circum- 
stances were  continued,  and  have  gone  on  until  they  have 
attained  the  present  portentous  results — an  exhibition  of  some 
two  thousand  works  of  Art,  by  more  than  one  thousand  two 


10    FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

hundred  artists,  which  is  visited  on  an  average  by  some  three 
hundred  thousand  people,  and  from  which  there  is,  moreover, 
a  mournful  procession  of  some  ten  thousand  works  of  Art  for 
which  no  place  can  be  found  :  and  this  to  speak  of  the  Academy 
exhibition  alone  without  counting  the  numerous  smaller  ones 
both  in  London  and  in  the  provinces,  which  have  sprung  up  of 
late  years.  A  careful  study  of  the  statistics  of  these  exhibitions 
might  throw  considerable  light  on  the  history  of  British  Art, 
and  supply  abundant  food  for  moralising  to  those  who  are  so 
inclined. 

In  the  following  year,  1761,  we  find  two  exhibitions.  The 
artists  had  come  to  loggerheads ;  the  main  body,  styled  hence- 
forth the  Society  of  Artists,  continued  its  triumphant  career,  and 
was  eventually  reconstructed  and  absorbed  into  the  Royal 
Academy ;  the  seceders  formed  a  separate  body,  styling  itself 
the  Free  Society  of  Artists.  They  continued  to  hold  exhi- 
bitions in  the  rooms  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  in  Maiden  Lane, 
Covent  Garden,  in  Mr  Christie's  rooms  in  the  Haymarket,  in 
Pall  Mall,  and  in  St  Alban's  Street,  until  1778,  when  the  Free 
Society  closed  its  books,  divided  the  spoils,  and  vanished  from 
history. 

The  main  body,  the  Society  of  Artists,  in  1761  held  an  exhi- 
bition in  Spring  Gardens.  Hogarth  executed  two  plates  for  the 
catalogue — one  representing  Britannia  watering  three  healthy 
plants,  labelled  "  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture,"  the 
other,  a  monkey  in  full  "macaroni"  costume,  contemplating 
three  withered  stumps  which  represented  the  Old  Masters. 
The  receipts  from  this  exhibition  were  £650.  In  1762  they 
instituted  the  charge  of  one  shilling  for  admission.  Dr  Johnson 
wrote  a  preface  to  the  catalogue ;  in  his  usual  style,  he  fired 
off  double-shotted  guns  of  the  heaviest  calibre,  and  went  to 
the  very  ground-work  of  human  nature  to  justify  the  exhibi- 
tion. One  remark  is  singularly  pertinent  even  in  the  remote 
days  in  which  we  live.  "All,"  he  says,  "cannot  be  judges 
or  purchasers  of  works  of  Art.  Yet  we  have  found  by  experi- 


INCORPORATED  SOCIETY  OF  ARTISTS  11 

ence  that  all  are  fond  of  seeing  an  exhibition."  Most  wise 
Dr  Johnson  !  Thou  art  a  very  Daniel  come  to  judgment  over 
the  arts ! 

This  Society  of  Artists  continued  to  prosper  exceedingly — 
so  much  so  that  in  1765  they  were  granted  a  Royal  charter,  as 
the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists  of  Great  Britain.  Their 
Roll  Declaration  contained  two  hundred  and  eleven  names, 
those  of  Reynolds,  Gainsborough,  Zoffany,  Wilson,  and  West 
amongst  them.  The  original  document  bearing  their  signa- 
tures is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

The  Incorporated  Society  was  prosperous,  but  not  united. 
Pale  discord  showed  herself  at  their  banquets,  and  as  a  result  we 
find  in  1768  a  number  of  the  original  members  and  directors 
formally  tendering  their  resignations.  These  seceders  were  the 
most  eminent  artists  of  their  day ;  they  were  driven  to  this 
course  by  finding  that  a  number  of  men  who  were  by  no 
means  an  ornament  to  their  profession,  and  were  doing  nothing 
to  further  the  cause  of  Art,  were  endeavouring  by  intrigues 
and  jobbery  to  turn  the  management  of  the  institution  to 
their  own  profit :  the  old  story  of  the  great  man  who  has  no 
time  for  trifles  and  the  little  man  who  lives  by  them.  On 
28th  November  1768,  these  seceders  presented  a  memorial  to 
the  king,  beseeching  him  to  found  a  Royal  Academy  on  a 
plan  which  they  had  laid  down.  It  was  to  be  a  "school  or 
academy  of  design  for  the  use  of  students  in  the  arts,"  with  an 
annual  exhibition.  "We  apprehend,"  said  the  memorialists, 
"  that  the  profits  arising  from  the  last  of  these  institutions  will 
fully  answer  all  the  expenses  of  the  first ;  we  even  flatter  our- 
selves they  will  be  more  than  necessary  for  that  purpose,  and 
that  we  shall  be  enabled  annually  to  distribute  somewhat  in 
useful  charities."  An  aspiration  which  has  been  fulfilled  to  the 
letter.  At  the  present  day  there  are  more  than  two  hundred 
students  passing  through  their  term  of  studentship  in  the 
schools  of  the  Royal  Academy,  enjoying  an  elaborate  education 
free  of  charge ;  and  more  than  twelve  hundred  pounds  a  year 


12    FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

is  given  away  in  charity,  entirely  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
annual  exhibition. 

The  king,  George  III.,  received  this  memorial  graciously, 
and  matters  seemed  in  a  fair  way — only  one  obstacle  presented 
itself:  Reynolds  held  aloof  from  either  party,  and  without  him 
it  was  felt  that  nothing  could  be  done.  Here  was  a  grave 
dilemma.  The  king  was  waiting  to  receive  the  plan,  and  had 
appointed  the  hour.  Thirty  artists  assembled  at  Mr  Wilton's, 
and  sent  Benjamin  West  to  see  what  he  could  do  with  Reynolds. 
For  two  anxious  hours  they  waited,  when  at  length  West 
returned,  and  Reynolds  with  him.  They  rose,  and  with  one 
voice  hailed  the  latter  as  "  President."  Reynolds  was  much 
affected,  thanked  them,  and  asked  for  time  to  consider  and  to 
consult  his  two  great  friends,  Burke  and  Johnson.  He  was  a 
fortnight  before  he  gave  his  consent. 

In  the  meantime  the  scheme  was  laid  before  the  king, 
approved  of,  and  finally,  on  the  loth  December  1768,  the  docu- 
ment known  as  the  "  Instrument "  was  signed,  and  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Arts  came  into  existence.  In  this  document  thirty- 
six  persons  are  named  as  the  original  members,  viz. : — Joshua 
Reynolds,  Benjamin  West,  Thomas  Sandby,  Francis  Cotes, 
John  Baker,  Mason  Chamberlin,  John  Gwynn,  Thomas  Gains- 
borough, J.  Baptist  Cipriani,  Jeremiah  Meyer,  Francis  Milner 
Newton,  Paul  Sandby,  Francesco  Bartolozzi,  Chas.  Catton, 
Nathaniel  Hone,  William  Tyler,  Nathaniel  Dance,  Richard 
Wilson,  G.  Michael  Moser,  Samuel  Wale,  Peter  Toms,  Angelica 
Kauffman,  Richard  Yeo,  Mary  Moser,  William  Chambers, 
Joseph  Wilton,  George  Barret,  Edward  Penny,  Agostino 
Carlini,  Francis  Hayman,  Dominic  Serres,  John  Richards, 
Francesco  Zuccarelli,  George  Dance,  William  Hoare,  Johan 
ZofTany. 

This  original  "  Instrument"  has  never  lost  its  authority;  it 
contains  virtually  all  the  laws  which  govern  the  Royal  Academy, 
and  no  changes  or  modifications  have  been  made  in  it  without 
the  sanction  of  the  sovereign,  which  sanction  is  communicated 


THE  "INSTRUMENT"  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY    13 

to  the  President  in  a  personal  interview.  The  gist  of  it  may  be 
summed  up  in  the  following  fashion.  The  sovereign,  on  his 
part,  undertakes  to  provide  the  Society  with  rooms,  sedes 
statioque,  to  patronise,  or,  as  George  III.  did,  to  call  it  "My 
Academy."  In  return,  the  artists  undertake  to  instruct  students 
in  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture,  gratis  ;  to  endow  pro- 
fessorships, to  give  prizes  for  merit  in  the  schools,  to  provide 
a  library  of  art  books  for  the  use  of  students,  and  to  give  away 
certain  sums  for  charitable  purposes ;  the  funds  for  such 
purposes  to  be  provided  by  them  out  of  the  profits  of  an 
annual  exhibition  of  works  of  Art  selected  for  the  purpose  by 
themselves ;  and  to  this  time,  both  parties  have  been  true  to 
their  engagements. 

The  first  public  assembly  of  the  Royal  Academy  was  held 
on  the  2nd  January  1769,  at  their  temporary  rooms  in  Pall 
Mall,  a  little  eastward  of  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Senior 
United  Service  Club,  where,  losing  no  time,  they  had  already 
established  and  opened  their  schools.  On  this  occasion  Rey- 
nolds, as  President,  delivered  the  first  of  his  celebrated  "Dis- 
courses," beginning  with  these  words : — "  Gentlemen,  an 
Academy,  in  which  the  polite  arts  may  be  regularly  culti- 
vated, is  at  last  opened  among  us  by  royal  munificence.  This 
must  appear  an  event  in  the  highest  degree  interesting,  not 
only  to  the  artist,  but  to  the  whole  nation." 

Reynolds'  second  Discourse  was  delivered  on  loth  December 
1769,  and  then  annually  on  the  same  date,  which  was  that  of 
the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Academy,  up  to  1772.  After  that 
biennially,  as  has  been  the  custom  with  his  successors.  What 
is  called  his  ninth  Discourse  is  merely  a  short  speech  delivered 
on  1 8th  October  1780,  on  the  removal  of  the  Royal  Academy 
to  Somerset  House. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  FIRST  PRESIDENT 
SIR  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS 

THE  last  chapter  relates  strictly  to  historical  matters.  We 
traced  the  stream  of  English  Art,  we  noticed  its  early  trick- 
lings  in  the  miniature  line,  the  affluents  from  abroad  which 
swelled  its  volume,  until  we  brought  it  down  to  the  latter  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  it  represented  an  important 
river,  fed  from  East,  West,  North,  and  South  by  native  waters. 
In  this  chapter,  at  least  at  the  outset  of  it,  we  must  request 
our  readers  not  to  think  of  the  course  of  English  Art,  or  of 
such  a  phenomenon  as  a  Royal  Academy,  but  to  allow  the 
docile  bent  of  their  imaginations  to  turn  indolently  and  curi- 
ously in  the  direction  we  would  have  it  go  ;  to  mark  while 
we  describe  an  interesting  domestic  scene  which  occurred  in  the 
little  town  of  Plympton,  in  Devon,  in  the  house  of  the  master 
of  the  Grammar  School,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Reynolds.  He  was 
from  all  accounts  a  worthy  man,  a  good  scholar,  very  guileless, 
simple,  and  also  absent-minded  ;  did  other  probabilities  coin- 
cide, we  might  consider  him  to  have  been  the  prototype  of 
Fielding's  Parson  Adams.  Besides  him  there  are  present  his 
wife  Theophila,  a  friend  of  the  family  named  Craunch,  and  his 
youngest  son  Joshua,  then  aged  sixteen,  having  been  born 
on  1 6th  July  1723.  The  occasion  is  a  very  solemn  one;  it 
relates  to  nothing  less  than  the  choice  of  a  profession  for 
the  said  youth.  The  Rev.  Samuel  inclines  towards  that  of  an 

14 


.  ^/  $&    '  •  /y  //////• »-"//. 


REYNOLDS1  CHOICE  OF  A  PROFESSION  15 

apothecary,  which  in  those  days  corresponded  to  what  we  call 
a  general  practitioner  in  medicine — a  useful,  honourable,  and 
lucrative  calling ;  but  his  mind  is  much  harassed.  The  boy 
has  been  reading  a  book  by  a  certain  Jonathan  Richardson, 
A  Treatise  on  the  Art  of  Painting,  which  has  set  him 
dreaming  on  becoming  an  artist.  He  has,  moreover,  executed 
a  drawing  of  the  arches  of  Plympton  Grammar  School,  in 
which  he  has  represented  the  arches  getting  smaller  and 
smaller  as  they  do  sometimes  in  nature,  and  which  he  learnt 
the  secret  of  in  a  curious  book  called  the  "  Jesuit's  Perspective." 
These  things  appear  to  his  father  to  be  truly  wonderful ;  so 
much  so,  that  he  has  thought  it  worth  while  to  take  a  long 
ride  to  the  residence  of  his  trusted  friend  Mr  Craunch  and 
has  invited  him  to  come  over  and  advise  on  the  matter. 
The  worthy  man  had  started  on  this  journey  with  a  new  pair  of 
gambadoes,  and  had  returned  with  only  one,  having  been  too 
preoccupied  to  notice  the  falling  off  of  the  other.  If  history 
spoke  the  truth,  which  it  never  does,  we  should  probably  find 
that  all  through  this  momentous  interview,  Mrs  Reynolds  was 
thinking  more  of  her  husband's  lost  gambado  than  of  the 
prospects  of  her  son,  of  the  future  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  first 
president  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts. 

In  addition  to  the  achievement  of  the  school  arcade,  the 
lad  had  also  painted  a  head  in  common  ship's  paints  on  a 
boat  sail  on  Cremill  Beach,  near  Mount  Edgcumbe,  and  was 
always  copying  the  prints  in  Jacob  Gatz'  "  Book  of  Emblems," 
which  his  paternal  grandmother  is  said  to  have  brought  with 
her  from  Holland. 

The  case  was  put  in  this  fashion.  On  the  one  hand  there 
was  Mr  Raport,  of  Plympton,  a  good  apothecary,  to  whom 
Mistress  Reynolds  had  been  much  beholden  thirteen  times, 
who  would  take  Joshua  and  bring  him  up  to  the  profession ; 
on  the  other  hand  he  had  such  a  genius,  those  arches  being 
truly  wonderful,  it  were  a  pity  if  some  good  master  could  not 
be  found  to  teach  him  the  art  of  painting.  Mr  Hudson,  the 


16  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENT 

reverend  gentleman  said,  was  reputed  the  greatest  painter  in 
England  now  that  Kneller  was  dead,  who  was  a  native  of 
Devon  also.  Upon  which  young  Joshua  interposed  and 
delivered  himself  of  the  first  utterance  which  has  come  down 
to  us.  "  I  would  rather  be  an  apothecary,"  he  said,  "  than  an 
ordinary  painter,  but  if  I  could  be  bound  to  an  eminent 
master,  I  would  choose  the  latter."  There  is  certainly  a  smack 
of  the  father  of  English  Art  in  that  saying.  Mr  Craunch, 
everybody  will  be  happy  to  hear,  rose  quite  to  the  height  of 
the  occasion.  He  decided  that  as  Mr  Hudson  was  often  "  to 
Bideford,"  Joshua's  drawings  should  be  sent  to  Mr  Cutliffe, 
the  attorney,  who  was  a  mutual  friend;  and  if  needs  were 
that  Joshua  himself  should  journey  thither  and  see  the  great 
man ;  that  he  (Craunch) — who,  thank  God,  did  not  want  for 
means — would  defray  expenses.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  that 
Joshua  Reynolds  embraced  the  artist's  profession.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  town  of  Plympton  lost  a  very  good  apothecary, 
but  as  a  set-off  the  world  gained  a  great  artist. 

Dr  Johnson's  definition  of  genius,  as  "  a  mind  of  large 
natural  powers  accidentally  determined  in  some  particular 
direction,"  applies  admirably  to  the  case  before  us.  The 
accident  is  incontestable :  Joshua  was  a  younger  son  of  a 
poor  man,  an  opening  for  him  had  to  be  found ;  they  knew 
so  little  of  Art  down  in  Devon  in  those  days  that  everything 
appeared  wonderful.  Mr  Craunch  was  a  good  friend,  and  a 
substantial  man,  who  pledged  himself  to  the  result,  and  so  it 
came  about.  But  we  may  well  ask  ourselves,  in  view  of  the 
strange  phenomena  of  Art  history,  the  delusive  exhibitions  of 
precocious  achievement,  the  splendid  imaginative  equipments 
which  become  abortive,  for  want  probably  of  some  good  ballast, 
some  sound  foundation  of  character — what  was  there  in  the 
early  performance  of  young  Reynolds  to  justify  a  father  and 
a  trusted  friend  in  determining  him  to  the  career  of  Art? 
Nothing,  absolutely  nothing.  They  were  right,  completely  and 
triumphantly  right,  and  we  figuratively  take  off  our  hats  to 


HIS  APPEARANCE  AND  CHARACTER  17 

them,  but  for  all  that  it  was  a  "fluke."  "The  mind  of  large 
natural  powers"  was  accidentally  determined  in  a  certain 
direction,  and  it  went  the  course  appointed  to  it  by  Nature. 

Young  Joshua  journeyed  up  to  London  by  stage-coach  to 
begin  his  life's  work  under  Hudson.  A  medallion  portrait  of 
him  in  his  youth  by  Peter  Falconet,  represents  a  countenance 
of  strange  beauty,  though  not  by  any  means  conventionally 
beautiful.  The  eyes  are  small,  and  the  upper  lip  rather  long ; 
the  general  balance  of  proportions  is  not,  perhaps,  of  the 
happiest,  the  mass  of  the  forehead  is  small  for  that  of  the 
cheeks,  and  the  nose,  though  faultlessly  straight,  hardly  asserts 
itself  enough  to  give  an  imposing  character  to  the  face,  which 
has  nevertheless  a  spiritual  charm  hard  to  define  ;  the  delicate 
curve  of  the  forehead,  the  arched  brow  and  open  eye,  the 
straight  nose,  the  lips  rather  full  but  compressed,  and  the 
massive  chin,  combine  to  produce  an  impression  of  gentleness, 
earnestness,  and  determination.  And  he  had  all  those 
qualities ;  never  was  a  lad  more  in  earnest  and  determined 
to  do  his  best,  more  open  to  instruction,  or  more  observant ; 
he  paid  to  trifles  the  compliment  which,  at  all  events  so  far 
as  they  relate  to  Art,  they  thoroughly  deserve,  of  considering 
them  important.  He  seems  to  have  been  placid,  of  an  equable 
temper ;  and  he  possessed,  moreover,  a  surprising  stock  of 
common  sense. 

He  only  stayed  two  years  with  Hudson,  that  is  till  1743, 
and  returned  to  Plympton.  In  1745,  he  was  back  again  in 
London,  painting  portraits ;  in  the  following  year  his  father 
died,  and  he  hurried  down  in  time  to  take  his  leave  of  the 
good  man. 

This  event  broke  up  the  household  at  Plympton.  Joshua 
removed  with  two  unmarried  sisters  to  a  house  at  Plymouth 
Dock,  and  three  barren  years  followed.  Reynolds  had  learnt 
something  with  Hudson ;  he  had  learnt  his  elements,  hard, 
dry,  and  cold,  as  is  the  manner  of  such  things ;  and  he  was 
now  looking  abroad  for  his  "humanities."  William  Gandy, 

B 


18  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENT 

of    Exeter,    was    the    first    to    satisfy   the    craving,   but    only 
partially. 

He  was  stranded  hard  and  dry  at  Plymouth  Dock ;  his 
genius  was  strictly  eclectic,  and  without  material  to  work  upon 
he  could  do  nothing ;  so  that  during  three  years  he  seems  to 
have  produced  little.  Things  must  have  looked  very  unpro- 
mising for  this  earnest  young  fellow ;  it  might  all  have  ended 
quite  differently,  like  Waterloo  if  Blucher  had  not  come  up ; 
but  in  Reynolds'  case  a  Blucher  did  turn  up,  in  the  shape  of 
Commodore  Keppel,  who  put  into  Plymouth  with  his  squad- 
ron to  repair  damages  sustained  in  a  gale.  They  met  at 
Mount  Edgcumbe,  and  the  "  rude  and  boisterous  captain  of 
the  sea "  was  so  taken  with  the  modesty,  the  good  sense,  and 
possibly  also  with  the  sweet  face,  handed  down  to  us  by 
Falconet,  of  the  young  artist,  that  he  offered  him  a  passage 
on  board  his  ship  the  Centurion  to  the  Mediterranean.  This 
was  the  turning-point  of  Reynolds'  life;  but  for  Keppel,  but 
for  that  opportunity,  in  all  probability  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
P.R.A.,  would  not  have  been,  and  many  other  things  besides. 
It  is  a  long  process  to  trace  effects  to  their  causes,  we  have 
not  time  for  it,  but  indubitably  amongst  the  causes  of  the 
glories  of  English  Art  is  the  benevolence  of  a  certain  Mr 
Craunch,  a  native  of  Devon,  otherwise  unknown  to  the  world. 
He  has  already  been  introduced  as  taking  part  in  a  certain 
very  important  family  conference ;  we  now  become  aware  of 
his  presence  a  second  time.  He  supplied  young  Joshua  with 
the  funds  necessary  to  prosecute  his  studies  abroad ;  after 
which  act  he  disappears  from  history ;  not,  however,  without 
having  left  his  mark  upon  it ;  to  those  who  are  not  fascinated 
by  names  and  titles,  that  mark  may  appear  quite  as  important 
as  if  Mr  Craunch  had  risen  in  his  might  and  by  the  terror 
of  that  awful  name  had  dispersed  thousands  on  the  field  of 
battle. 

From   this   time   forth   it    was    all    plain    sailing ;    on    the 
nth  May  1749,  H.M.S.  Centurion  weighed  anchor,  shook  out 


TRAVELS  ABROAD  AND  LIFE  IN  LONDON         19 

topsails    and    courses,    and    bore    young    Reynolds    away   to 
glory. 

Rubens  was  eight  years  in  Italy,  Reynolds  three.  The 
two  great  men  who  looked  at  Italian  Art  with  the  keenest 
and  most  appreciative  eyes,  who  were  the  most  completely 
developed  and  transformed  by  it,  accomplished  the  process  of 
education  in  very  unequal  periods  of  time.  Reynolds  does 
not  appear  to  have  got  farther  than  analysing  sources  of 
effect.  The  depiction  of  the  "  Marriage  of  Cana,"  by  P.  Vero- 
nese in  his  Venetian  note-book,  is,  from  this  point  of  view, 
a  most  wonderful  performance ;  he  made  blots  of  light  and 
shade ;  he  observed  and  reasoned  over  all  the  little  trifles 
which  go  to  build  up  a  picture,  and  came  back  passed  master 
in  picture-making.  Rubens  took  his  tuition  differently,  and 
imbibed  more  of  the  vital  sap  of  Italian  Art ;  but  with  him 
we  have  at  present  no  concern. 

The  first  pictures  exhibited  by  Reynolds  after  his  return 
placed  him,  ncuiine  contradicente,  at  the  head  of  his  profession ; 
a  tide  of  patronage  set  in  which  never  abated  ;  life  constantly 
expanded  before  him  with  more  captivating  show.  He  first 
took  Sir  James  Thornhill's  house  in  St  Martin's  Lane ;  thence 
he  moved  to  No.  5  Great  Newport  Street ;  nine  years  after 
to  Leicester  Fields,  where  he  bought  a  house,  now  occupied 
by  Messrs  Puttick  &  Simpson,  library  auctioneers. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  nation  is  happy  which  leaves  no 
annals ;  and  the  same  thing  may  be  said  of  individuals. 
After  the  year  1753  there  is  nothing  to  relate  of  Reynolds. 
The  student  of  eighteenth-century  literature  meets  him  at 
every  turn.  His  honest,  kindly,  genial  face  seems  to  beam 
out  through  an  atmosphere  which  is  not  altogether  wholesome. 
At  the  house  of  certain  Misses  Cotterell  he  makes  a  casual 
remark  which  awakens  the  esteem  of  another  genuine  crea- 
ture of  that  forlorn  century,  Dr  Johnson,  and  begins  a  life- 
long friendship.  Edmund  Burke,  impelled  by  the  force  of 
spiritual  affinity,  falls  in  and  completes  a  triumvirate  which 


20  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENT 

stands  in  noble  contrast  with  another  that  existed  two  hun- 
dred years  before  in  Venice,  where  a  great  painter,  Tiziano 
Vecellio,  lived  constantly  in  the  society  of  Sansovino  and 
Pietro  Aretino. 

Through  that  door  in  Leicester  Fields,  or  Leicester  Square 
as  we  now  call  it,  passed  all  the  great,  the  wise,  the  good, 
and  the  beautiful  of  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century— 
Waldegrave,  Pembroke,  North,  Chatham,  Newcastle,  Lawrence 
Sterne,  Horace  Walpole,  Gibbon,  Selwyn,  Langton,  Garrick, 
Goldsmith,  the  Wartons,  Sheridan,  Colman,  Barry,  Percy,  and 
all  the  brilliant  members  of  the  Turk's  Head  Club.  Those 
stairs  were  ascended  by  the  majestic  Siddons,  by  all  the 
loveliest  women  in  the  land,  with  their  finery  rustling  round 
them ;  Kitty  Fisher  tripped  up  them  with  her  saucy  nose 
upturned,  and  so  did  Nelly  O'Brien.  Joshua  Reynolds  was 
an  important  item  in  the  social  life  of  his  time;  in  1758  he 
had  one  hundred  and  fifty  sitters.  When  he  sat  down  to 
dinner  with  Miss  Frances  Reynolds,  who  appears  to  have  been 
a  bad  manager,  opposite  to  him,  at  a  table  laid  for  ten,  he 
often  had  to  accommodate  fifteen,  and  there  was  a  general 
scramble  for  knives,  forks,  and  plates.  There  Johnson  was 
wont  to  eat  immoderately,  and  Burke  often  ravished  the 
company  with  the  coruscations  of  his  transcendent  wit.  All 
that  can  be  confidently  said  of  Reynolds  during  the  last  thirty- 
nine  years  of  his  life,  is  that  he  painted  a  great  many 
pictures,  saw  a  very  great  deal  of  society,  played  hundreds, 
or  more  probably  thousands,  of  rubbers  of  whist,  and  lost  an 
almost  equal  number  of  odd  tricks  through  bad  play ;  that 
before  he  died  he  was  vexed  by  partial  blindness,  which  pre- 
vented him  from  exercising  his  art ;  that  when  life  was  over, 
a  solemn  procession,  attended  by  thousands,  followed  his  remains 
to  St  Paul's ;  that  at  a  meeting  after  the  funeral  Edmund  Burke 
burst  into  tears,  and  became  inarticulate  for  the  only  time  in 
his  life;  and — that  is  pretty  nearly  all  there  is  to  relate  of 
Reynolds. 


THE  "DISCOURSES"  21 

His  connection  with  the  Royal  Academy,  with  one  short 
interval,  as  shall  be  related  later  on,  lasted  for  twenty-four 
years,  from  1768  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1792.  During  that 
period  he  delivered  fourteen  Discourses  ex  cathedra,  to  the 
students,  for  the  most  part  on  the  occasion  of  the  distribution 
of  the  great  prizes,  the  gold  medals  and  travelling  studentships. 
The  first  of  his  orations,  to  which  allusion  has  already  been 
made,  and  which  is  entitled  Discourse  I.,  in  the  printed  edition 
of  his  works,  was  delivered  at  an  inaugural  meeting  of  the 
newly  constituted  society ;  it  related  entirely  to  its  manage- 
ment, and  the  details  of  its  internal  economy.  Discourse  II., 
which  should  more  appropriately  rank  as  No.  I.,  was  delivered 
to  the  students  on  the  first  occasion  of  the  distribution  of  prizes 
on  the  nth  December  1769. 

To  all  men  of  judgment  and  culture  who  were  present  on 
that  occasion,  it  must  have  become  at  once  apparent  that  a  new 
light  had  arisen  in  literature.  In  this  masterly  Discourse,  he 
passes  over  the  wide  domain  of  Art,  characterises  its  highest 
excellencies,  and  points  out  what  he  considers  the  most  profit- 
able system  of  education.  He  claims  the  right  of  offering  some 
hints  to  the  consideration  of  his  hearers,  from — to  quote  his 
words — "the  long  experience  I  have  had,  and  the  increasing 
assiduity  with  which  I  have  pursued  those  studies."  This 
Discourse,  and  all  the  others,  give  the  words  of  a  man  who  has 
a  thorough  practical  knowledge  of  his  subject :  they  give  the 
results  of  earnest  inquiry,  diligent  observation,  and  constant 
reflection,  offered  to  us  in  short,  pithy,  epigrammatical  and 
antithetical  sentences.  The  "  Discourses  "  conveys  the  impres- 
sion of  one  of  the  weightiest  books  in  the  language,  its  style 
rises  at  times  to  eloquence,  at  others  it  analyses  minutely, 
and  there  is  never  the  faintest  suspicion  raised  that  anything 
is  done  for  effect :  the  thoughts  seem  to  flow  naturally  and 
spontaneously  from  the  author's  heart ;  they  are  at  times 
couched  in  the  phraseology  of  Burke,  at  others  they  roll 
out  with  something  of  the  ponderous  impressiveness  of 


22  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENT 

Johnson,  but  they  always  belong  to  Reynolds  and  to  no  one 
else. 

There  are  necessarily  many  things  in  this  book  which  a 
modern  reader  is  inclined  to  cavil  at.  In  the  second  Dis- 
course, for  instance,  he  points  out  Lodovico  Carracci  as  the  best 
model  for  style  in  painting.  Our  ancestors  in  the  eighteenth 
century  thought  a  very  great  deal  of  the  Bolognese  school ;  they 
were  educating  their  taste,  and  for  their  own  good  and  that  of 
their  successors  they  stocked  their  picture  galleries  as  they  laid 
down  port  wine  in  their  cellars.  Full-bodied  Guercinos  and 
Carraccis,  rich  fruity  Nymphs  and  fine  tawny  Satyrs  were  con- 
sidered to  be  quite  the  "grands  crus."  Time  has  mellowed 
these  things  and  given  them  a  fine  crust,  but  they  are  not  very 
much  to  the  taste  of  the  present  generation. 

It  becomes  evident  from  a  careful  perusal  of  the  Discourses, 
that  Reynolds  never  freed  himself  entirely  from  the  prejudices 
of  his  time.  In  his  estimate  of  the  greatest  men,  of  Raphael, 
Michael  Angelo,  and  Titian,  he  never  rose  to  the  point  of 
appreciating  them  on  the  score  of  their  truth  to  nature :  the 
phantom  of  the  "  grand  style,"  the  "  gusto  grande,"  floated  ever 
before  his  eyes,  and  dimmed  her  true  lineaments.  He  insists 
upon  the  ideal  treatment  of  human  form  ;  all  objects  presented 
to  us  by  nature,  he  says,  will  be  found  to  have  blemishes  and 
defects,  and  the  painter  by  long  laborious  comparison  arrives 
at  the  grand  style,  which  consists  in  building  up,  out  of  the 
most  beautiful  parts  of  separate  bodies,  an  ideal  or  perfect  body. 
But  it  appears  to  us  in  the  highest  degree  inconsequential  when 
he  asserts  that  this  perfect  form  was  arrived  at  by  those  artists, 
namely  the  ancient  Greek  sculptors,  who  were  "indefatigable 
in  the  school  of  nature,"  seeing  that  this  perfect  form  exists 
nowhere  in  nature,  but  only  as  an  idea  in  the  mind  of  the 
artist ;  it  is  utterly  independent  of  study  and  observation. 
Nature  cannot  suggest  the  perfect  form :  the  artist  must  first 
conceive  the  idea  of  it  and  then  go  to  nature  to  work  it  out. 

There   are   certain   incongruities   in   Reynolds'   Discourses, 


OPINIONS  ON  ART  23 

which  were  forced  upon  him  by  his  position  as  head  of  an 
Academy  of  Arts.  Such  institutions  assume  the  function  of 
elevating  taste,  and  keeping  alive  the  traditions  of  what  is 
highest  and  most  noble  in  Art ;  and  it  must  constantly  happen 
that  professors  whose  own  Art,  like  that  of  Reynolds,  is  based 
upon  the  closest  observation  and  imitation  of  nature,  are  found 
preaching  doctrines  which  they  are  extremely  careful  not  to 
practise.  Reynolds'  doctrines,  in  whatever  light  they  may 
appear  to  us  in  the  crude  sunlit  glare  of  present-day  realism, 
appeared  inefficient  and  subversive  to  the  doctrinarians  of  his 
time.  Raphael  Mengs,  who  opined  that  Raphael  Sanzio,  his 
namesake,  did  not  know  the  ideal,  and  that  his  Madonnas  if 
they  had  been  like  the  "  Daughter  of  Niobe,"  would  have  been 
very  much  better,  said  that  the  book  by  the  English  Reynolds 
was  likely  to  lead  youth  into  error,  as  teaching  them  superficial 
principles,  the  only  ones  known  to  the  author.  Richard  Cumber- 
land no  doubt  made  careful  note  of  this  piece  of  impertinence, 
and  when,  in  his  Anecdotes  of  Painters  in  Spain,  he  found  an 
opportunity  for  vengeance,  he  used  it  after  this  fashion.  Speak- 
ing of  a  picture  of  the  Nativity  by  the  said  Raphael  Mengs,  he 
says  that  the  painter  "exhibits  an  ineffectual  and  puisne 
bambino  which  looks  as  if  it  was  painted  from  a  bottle." 

Hazlitt  has  also  come  forward  with  a  statement  of  "  contra- 
dictions "  existing  in  Reynolds'  book,  such  for  instance  as  that 
students  are  warned  to  put  no  dependence  on  their  own  genius, 
which  is  a  delusive  guide,  that  attentive  study  of  the  best 
examples  is  the  only  sure  foundation ;  and  on  the  other  hand 
that  all  the  study  in  the  world  is  of  no  avail  without  taste  and 
genius,  which  cannot  be  communicated.  There  is  no  denying 
this  impeachment ;  this  contradiction  runs  through  all  the 
fourteen  Discourses  ;  it  is  obviously  the  result  of  a  peculiar, 
and  we  may  say  very  amiable  craze  of  the  author,  in  the  pursuit 
of  which  he  is  led  into  all  sorts  of  impossible  and  inextricable 
corners  and  false  positions. 

It  was  an  affectation  of  our  good  Sir  Joshua  to  deny  himself 


24  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENT 

genius,  and  to  attribute  his  success  to  industry  and  perseverance. 
It  is  not  for  us  to  quarrel  with  this  delusion,  if  it  gave  him 
satisfaction,  but  it  is  a  gross  error  on  the  part  of  the  critic  to 
take  him  at  his  word. 

Reynolds  began  by  analysis :  he  was  profoundly  learned,  he 
had  noted  everything  connected  with  the  construction  of  pictures, 
where  the  strong  colours  produced  the  best  effect,  how  many 
lights  should  be  introduced,  and  their  relative  proportions  to 
the  mass  of  shade.  He  had  stored  his  mind  with  examples  and 
precedents,  had  noted  even  how  trivial  accessories  had  been 
introduced  with  good  effect ;  and  more  than  that,  examples 
seem  to  have  been  necessary  to  him  as  a  stimulus  to  invention. 

But  dozens  have  done  the  same  ;  there  have  been  artists  no 
doubt  quite  as  learned,  who  remained  pedants  and  machinists. 
In  certain  of  Reynolds'  pictures,  in  a  very  few  amongst  the  very 
many,  we  are  too  plainly  reminded  of  Titian,  L.  da  Vinci,  and 
Murillo ;  in  the  mass  of  them,  all  his  extensive  knowledge  and 
his  memory  of  examples  are  fused  and  blended  inextricably 
with  his  own  individuality,  so  as  to  constitute  a  new  and  living 
phase  of  Art,  which  we  know  and  recognise  as  that  of  Reynolds  ; 
and  if  that  is  not  the  result  of  genius,  there  is  no  meaning  in 
the  term,  or  we  are  arbitrarily  restricting  that  meaning  to  suit 
some  sectarian  purposes.  There  are,  moreover,  indisputable 
gleams  in  his  art  of  a  strange  imaginative  faculty,  the  only 
counterpart  to  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  "  Mona  Lisa "  of 
Leonardo  da  Vinci.  The  "  Nelly  O'Brien  "  and  the  "  Strawberry 
Girl "  are  conspicuous  instances.  What  do  they  express  ?  We 
cannot  tell,  something  that  fascinates  and  haunts  us,  that  we 
puzzle  over  and  wonder  about,  that  seems  to  tempt  our  imagina- 
tions into  abstruse  forbidden  regions  of  speculation.  No  doubt 
his  great,  we  may  say  his  only  rival,  Gainsborough,  had  qualities 
which  appear  more  directly  spontaneous,  and  the  gift  of  nature, 
and  which  we  unhesitatingly  ascribe  to  genius,  but  there  is  no 
denying  the  aptness  of  Johnson's  definition  of  "  a  mind  of  great 
natural  powers  accidentally  determined  in  a  particular  direction." 


PICTURES  AND  METHOD  OF  WORK  25 

The  mind  of  Reynolds  was  reflective,  observant,  and  extra- 
ordinarily tenacious  ;  it  never  lost  grip  of  anything  once  acquired. 
Throughout  a  long  life  of  unceasing  activity  he  gathered  new 
facts  daily,  and  these  were  added  to  the  old,  mixed  up  and 
fermented  by  a  fine  imagination,  and  regulated  by  an  impertur- 
bable common  sense.  Reynolds  was  never  led  astray  by  dreams, 
never  beguiled  by  enthusiasm  to  attempt  the  thing  beyond  his 
powers  ;  in  the  very  fever-fit  of  conception  he  had  coolness  and 
presence  of  mind  to  turn  upon  himself,  to  take  stock  of  his 
commodity  of  means,  to  ask  himself,  Can  I  carry  this  out  ?  how 
is  it  to  be  carried  out  ? 

There  have  been  few  men  like  him.  Titian  conceived  things 
pictorially,  he  saw  the  scene  before  him  as  a  picture,  with  its 
tones  and  colours  ;  Rubens'  resources  were  equal  to  any  strain, 
his  knowledge  was  astounding,  and  his  temperament  was  so 
ardent  that,  as  he  has  said,  his  powers  seemed  to  expand  with 
the  greatness  of  the  undertaking  before  him.  Reynolds  had  not 
equal  ardour,  his  knowledge  was  less  profound  than  that  of 
Rubens,  his  imagination  far  inferior  to  that  of  Titian.  But  he 
had  a  fine  playful  fancy ;  he  had  a  solid  fund  of  judgment  and 
savoir  faire ;  he  brought  his  whole  mind  to  bear  upon  every- 
thing he  did,  and  he  did  everything  deliberately  and  thoroughly  ; 
and  the  result  is,  he  has  bequeathed  to  posterity  a  legacy,  accord- 
ing to  the  statement  of  Messrs  Graves  and  Cronin  in  their 
monumental  work,  A  History  of  the  Works  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  P.R.A.,  of  some  four  thousand  pictures,  in  which 
there  are  comparatively  few  traces  of  inequality. 

Though,  as  we  have  said,  it  is  a  great  error  to  attribute  Sir 
Joshua's  success  simply  to  his  industry,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
he  was  extraordinarily  industrious.  He  said  himself  that  "  no 
industrious  journeyman  mechanic  perhaps  had  laboured  more 
incessantly  for  his  daily  bread  than  he  had."  It  was  a  cause  of 
grief  to  his  friend,  Dr  Johnson,  and  a  subject  of  delicate  remon- 
strance, that  he  would  not  even  rest  on  Sundays ;  it  is  said  that 
his  only  idle  day  was  that  on  which  he  heard  of  the  death  of 


26  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENT 

Oliver  Goldsmith.  The  note-books  in  which  he  entered 
his  appointments  with  sitters  are  preserved  in  the  Royal 
Academy ;  there  are  twenty-seven  of  them,  extending  from 
1757  to  1790,  seven  years  being  missing.  They  are  plain, 
shabby  little  volumes,  uniformly  bound  and  ruled  after  the 
fashion  of  diaries ;  they  are  scrawled  thickly  with  names  of  his 
sitters ;  the  paper  is  bad,  the  ink  has  turned  brown  with  age, 
and  the  handwriting  is  villainous ;  but  as  we  turn  the  pages 
over  and  discern  the  familiar  and  illustrious  names,  the  twentieth 
century  seems  to  vanish,  and  we  see  before  us  the  Court  of  the 
Georges,  with  its  atmosphere  of  plots  and  intrigues ;  we  hear 
the  rustle  of  silks  and  satins,  we  see  the  glimmer  of  gems  and 
of  pinchbeck  ;  the  whole  strange,  enigmatical,  and  laughable 
world  of  the  eighteenth  century  rises  up  before  us. 

From  one  of  the  pages  in  these  note-books  it  appears  that 
Reynolds  did  not  actually  receive  the  accolade,  the  investiture 
of  knighthood,  till  some  months  after  the  date  of  the  foundation 
of  the  Royal  Academy  and  his  election  as  President,  as  on  the 
opposite  page,  facing  the  entry  "  The  King's  Levee,"  on  22nd 
April  1769  is  written  "Knighted  at  St  James's." 

One  of  the  most  cherished  possessions  of  the  Royal  Academy 
is  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds'  "  Sitter's  Chair,"  which  is  placed  in  one 
of  the  Diploma  Galleries.  A  tablet  attached  to  it  bears  the 
following  inscription,  which  well  sums  up  its  history : — 

"  This  Chair  was  occupied  in  turn  by  the  most  illustrious 
Statesmen  and  Warriors,  by  the  most  eminent  Lawyers,  Poets, 
Philosophers,  and  Wits  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  love- 
liest and  most  intellectual  women  of  that  time  have  sat  in  it. 
The  majestic  Siddons  leaned  her  arms  upon  it  as  '  The  Tragic 
Muse,'  Kitty  Fisher  lounged  in  it  as  '  Cleopatra.' 

"  It  passed  by  purchase  into  the  possession  of  each  succeed- 
ing President  of  the  Royal  Academy,  until  Sir  Frederic 
Leighton,  in  1878,  presented  it  to  that  body,  and  it  has  now 
found  a  permanent  resting-place  in  this  Gallery." 

To  judge  of  Reynolds  purely  as  an  artist,  unbiassed  by  either 


QUALITIES  AS  AN  ARTIST  27 

national  or  Academic  proclivities,  is  a  perilous  and  difficult 
enterprise.  If  we  must  venture,  we  will  say  that  his  greatness 
was  not  peculiar  but  cumulative.  In  composition,  using  the 
term  as  expressing  the  lifelike  and  vivid  representation  of  a 
scene,  he  was  not  strong.  His  "  Death  of  Dido  "  does  not  impress 
us  with  being  exhibited  exactly  the  way  the  thing  occurred ;  it 
is  a  picture,  and  the  subject,  the  actual  event,  is  subservient  to 
pictorial  treatment.  In  drawing  he  was  weak,  as  he  confesses 
himself:  but  only  weak  as  compared  to  the  greatest  draughts- 
men. In  chiaroscuro  he  was  admirably  dexterous  and  skilful, 
but  not  inventive ;  he  had  not  explored  that  realm  of  mystery 
and  charm  like  Correggio  and  Rembrandt.  Design  and  colour 
were  his  strongest  qualities  :  in  the  former  he  was  never  wrong, 
his  lines  always  flow  right,  his  masses  are  always  well  balanced, 
the  aspect  of  his  pictures  is  always  imposing ;  and  in  colour, 
though  he  played  on  a  very  limited  scale,  and  used  but  few 
tints,  he  was  equally  imposing,  rich,  and  sonorous  in  tone.  As 
an  executant  he  was  masterly  and  dexterous,  but  never  reached 
the  height  of  excellence  attained  by  Titian,  Velasquez,  and 
Rubens.  In  no  quality,  as  we  have  said  before,  did  he  transcend. 
In  grace  and  elegance,  in  rendering  the  naivete  of  children,  the 
unspeakable  elegance  which  is  imparted  to  women  by  an 
innocent  mind,  we  might  be  inclined  to  concede  that  triumph 
to  him,  had  he  not  been  surpassed  by  his  contemporary,  Thomas 
Gainsborough.  In  every  quality  of  Art  others  had  gone  beyond 
him,  but  none  had  combined  so  many  qualities,  and  in  such 
high  degree ;  he  surveyed  the  domain  of  Art,  and  as  far  as  he 
could  see  in  every  direction,  he  tilled  and  cultivated  it  till  he 
left  no  spot  barren.  If  others  have  penetrated  farther  on  a 
given  line  of  radius,  to  Reynolds  belongs  the  glory  of  being  the 
most  complete  all-round  painter  the  world  has  ever  produced.' 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   FIRST   PRESIDENCY 

IN  the  last  chapter  we  have  dealt  with  Joshua  Reynolds  the 
artist ;  in  the  present  we  propose  to  deal  with  Joshua  Reynolds 
the  President,  or  rather  with  the  Royal  Academy  under  his 
presidency. 

It  may  with  truth  be  said  of  the  Royal  Academy  that  it  was 
felix  opportunitate  originis,  in  that  it  had  a  king,  George  III., 
young,  generous,  and  enthusiastic,  for  its  founder  and  patron ; 
a  Reynolds  for  its  first  President,  who,  besides  being  admittedly 
at  the  head  of  his  profession  as  a  painter,  or  to  put  it,  if  necessary, 
less  strongly,  primus  inter  pares,  was  a  scholar,  a  gentleman, 
and  a  man  of  the  world,  full  of  tact  and  sound  judgment ;  and 
a  man  of  business,  William  Chambers,  for  its  first  Treasurer. 
The  last-named  had  more  to  do  with  the  inception  of  the  new 
undertaking  than  any  one  else;  a  fact  which  we  find  duly 
acknowledged  by  his  fellow  -  members,  who,  at  a  General 
Assembly  held  on  2nd  January  1769,  at  which  every  one  of  the 
twenty-eight  Academicians  originally  nominated  by  the  king 
was  present,  passed  a  resolution  thanking  "  Mr  Chambers  for 
his  active  and  able  conduct  in  planning  and  forming  the  Royal 
Academy."  We  shall  refer  to  Chambers  farther  on,  but  it  may 
here  be  noted  that,  in  addition  to  his  business  faculties,  his 
having  been  tutor  in  architecture  to  George  III.,  when  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  the  favour  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  king,  gave 
him  exceptional  opportunities  for  gaining  the  king's  ear,  and 


THE  PATRONAGE  OF  GEORGE  III  29 

inducing  him  to  give  his  patronage  to  the  new  society  which 
Cotes,  West,  Moser,  and  himself  were  desirous  of  founding. 

Of  the  importance  which  was  attached  to  this  royal  patron- 
age, some  idea  may  be  formed  from  Reynolds'  remarks  in  his 
opening  address  at  the  same  General  Assembly — an  address 
termed  in  the  thanks  voted  to  him  for  it,  "  an  ingenious,  elegant, 
and  useful  speech."  "  The  numberless  and  ineffectual  consulta- 
tions," he  says,  "  which  I  have  had  with  many  in  this  assembly 
to  form  plans  and  concert  schemes  for  an  Academy,  afford 
sufficient  proof  of  the  impossibility  of  succeeding  but  by  the 
influence  of  Majesty.  But  there  have,  perhaps,  been  times  when 
even  the  influence  of  Majesty  would  have  been  ineffectual :  and 
it  is  pleasing  to  reflect  that  we  are  thus  embodied,  when  every 
circumstance  seems  to  concur  from  which  honour  and  prosperity 
can  possibly  arise.  There  are  at  this  time  a  greater  number  of 
excellent  artists  than  were  ever  known  before  at  one  period  in 
this  nation  ;  there  is  a  general  desire  among  our  nobility  to  be 
distinguished  as  lovers  and  judges  of  the  arts  ;  there  is  a  greater 
superfluity  of  wealth  among  the  people  to  reward  the  professors  ; 
and,  above  all,  we  are  patronised  by  a  monarch  who,  knowing 
the  value  of  science  and  elegance,  thinks  every  art  worthy  of 
his  notice  that  tends  to  soften  and  humanise  the  mind." 

George  III.'s  direct  and  personal  interest  in  "my  Academy," 
as  he  called  it,  was  shown  in  many  ways.  He  undertook  to 
supply  any  deficiencies  between  the  receipts  derived  from  the 
exhibitions  and  the  expenditure  incurred  on  the  schools,  charit- 
able donations  to  artists,  etc.,  out  of  his  own  Privy  Purse,  and 
actually  did  so  to  the  amount  of  £5116,  is.  iifd.  up  to  the 
year  1780,  when  the  last  payment  was  made,  the  financial 
independence  of  the  Academy  beginning  from  the  following 
year.  He  furthermore  gave  them  rooms  in  his  own  palace  of 
Somerset  House,  to  which  the  schools  and  the  official  depart- 
ments were  removed  in  1771,  the  Exhibition  still  continuing  to 
be  held  in  Pall  Mall  till  1780,  when  New  Somerset  House 
was  completed,  and  in  accordance  with  thd  right  reserved 


30  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENCY 

by  the  king  when  he  gave  up  the  palace  for  Government 
offices,  the  Academy  entered  into  possession  of  the  spacious 
apartments  expressly  provided  for  them,  including  a  large 
exhibition  room  at  the  top  of  the  building.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  the  Academy  becoming  self-supporting,  and  requiring  no 
further  aid  from  the  royal  purse,  was  synchronous  with  its 
taking  possession  of  its  new  home.  But  though  the  king  had 
no  longer  to  render  pecuniary  aid  to  the  Academy,  he  none  the 
less  carefully  looked  after  its  finances,  the  accounts  being  for 
many  years  audited  by  the  Privy  Purse.  That  he  considered 
himself  liable  for  any  deficiencies  is  shown  by  the  document 
containing  the  appointment  of  Venn  as  Treasurer  in  succession 
to  Chambers,  who  died  in  1796.  It  runs  thus  : — 

"  GEORGE  R. 

"  Whereas  we  have  thought  fit  to  nominate  and  appoint 
John  Venn,  Esq.  (Clerk  of  the  Writs  at  the  Queen's  House), 
to  be  Treasurer  to  our  Royal  Academy  during  our  pleasure  in 
the  room  of  Sir  William  Chambers,  Knight,  deceased  :  Our  will 
and  pleasure  therefore  is,  that  you  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid, 
unto  the  said  John  Venn  all  such  sums  as  shall  appear  necessary 
to  pay  the  debts  contracted  in  the  support  of  the  said  academy ; 
and  for  so  doing  this  shall  be  to  you  a  sufficient  warrant  and 
discharge.  Given  at  the  Queen's  Palace,  the  3ist  day  of  March 
1796,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  our  reign. 
"  By  His  Majesty's  command, 

(Signed}     "  CARDIGAN. 

"  To  our  right  trusty  and  well-beloved 
Cousin,  the  EARL  OF  CARDIGAN, 
Keeper  of  our  Privy  Purse." 

Any  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  Academicians  to  spend 
money  outside  the  express  object  for  which  the  institution  was 
founded  was  promptly  checked  by  George  III.  Two  memor- 
able instances  of  this  are  his  refusing  to  sanction  in  1791  the 


THE  DIPLOMA  OF  SIR  J.  REYNOLDS. 


[Face  p.  30 


THE  DIPLOMA  31 

proposal  to  contribute  £100  towards  the  monument  to  be  erected 
to  the  memory  of  Dr  Johnson  in  St  Paul's,  and  his  disapproval 
of  the  offer  in  1803  °f  £S°°  towards  the  subscription  for  the 
relief  of  the  sufferers  by  the  war  ;  though  with  reference  to  this 
second  occasion,  which  was  connected  with  a  very  important 
incident  in  the  government  of  the  Academy,  more  fitly  to  be 
referred  to  subsequently,  it  would  seem  that  his  action  was 
somewhat  inconsistent  with  his  previous  approval  in  1798  of  a 
donation  of  £500  for  "  the  use  of  the  Government." 

Another  proof  of  the  personal  interest  taken  by  George  III. 
in  the  concerns  of  his  Academy,  was  the  fact  that  he  drew  up 
with  his  own  hand  the  form  of  diploma  to  be  granted  to  each 
Academician  on  his  election,  retaining  the  right  of  approving  of 
such  election,  and  ordering  that  none  should  be  valid  till  his 
sign-manual  had  been  affixed  to  the  diploma.  Although 
Reynolds'  diploma  is  dated  the  I5th  of  December  1768,  as, 
indeed,  were  the  diplomas  of  all  the  original  members,  the 
question  of  a  diploma  was  not  taken  into  consideration  till  May 
1769,  when  Sir  William  Chambers  was  asked  to  draw  one  up, 
and  after  approval  it  was  submitted  by  him  to  the  king,  who 
made  many  alterations  and  finally  wrote  out  himself  the 
existing  form.  Several  designs  were  made  for  the  head-piece, 
the  members  of  the  Council,  the  Visitors,  and  the  Keeper  having 
all  been  requested  to  furnish  one.  That  of  Moser,  the  Keeper, 
as  appears  from  the  minutes  of  the  Council  of  3Oth  June,  was 
first  selected  ;  but  at  the  next  meeting,  on  loth  July,  Cipriani's, 
with  certain  specified  alterations,  was  substituted  for  it,  and 
ordered  to  be  engraved  by  Bartolozzi.  Three  or  four  of  the 
sketches  sent  in  are  preserved  in  the  Academy  archives,  and 
judging  from  them  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Cipriani's  was 
by  far  the  best  design. 

The  formal  election  of  Reynolds  as  President  took  place  at 
the  first  General  Assembly  held  on  I4th  December  1768,  and 
was  confirmed  by  the  king  on  i8th  December.  In  accordance 
with  section  4  of  the  "  Instrument "  of  foundation,  the  election 


32  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENCY 

was  to  be  an  annual  one,  and  to  take  place  on  loth  December, 
or  on  the  nth,  if  the  loth  was  a  Sunday.  In  1769,  1770,  1771, 
and  1772,  Reynolds  was  re-elected  nemine  contradicente,  a  special 
vote  of  thanks  being  given  him  in  1770  for  "the  many  eminent 
and  distinguished  services  he  has  in  his  late  office  rendered  to 
the  Royal  Academy."  But  in  1773  a  slight  note  of  discord 
was  struck,  one  vote  being  given  for  Charles  Catton ;  and  the 
same  thing  again  occurred  in  1774.  In  1775  West,  Gains- 
borough, Chambers,  Dance,  and  Hone  each  got  a  vote,  and 
Edward  Penny,  the  Professor  of  Painting,  three  votes,  and  the 
next  year,  1776,  he  got  two.  Nemine  contradicente  was  again 
the  verdict  for  Reynolds  in  1777,  1779,  1783,  1784,  1785,  1786, 
and  1790;  Gainsborough,  Dance,  Peters,  Penny,  Chambers 
(twice),  Catton,  Northcote,  Carlini,  and  West,  each  getting  one 
vote  in  the$other  years.  The  number  of  votes  for  Reynolds  in 
the  years  when  there  was  opposition  varied  from  12  to  26.  It 
is  difficult  to  account  for  this  constantly  recurring  note  of  discon- 
tent, except  onithe  supposition  that  it  was  intended  as  a  protest 
against  the  re-election  being  considered  a  matter  of  course. 

His  assiduity  in  the  discharge  of  his  functions  as  President 
both  outside  and  inside  the  Academy  was  unwearied.  On 
two  occasions  only  was  he  absent  from  the  meetings  of  the 
Council  and  the  General  Assembly  (not  including  the  meetings 
held  during  his  temporary  resignation),  and  the  minutes  of 
these  meetings  bear  ample  testimony  to  the  reality  of  the  work 
done  by  him.  The  opposition  cannot  have  been  prompted  by 
any  feeling  that  he  shirked  his  duties  :  nor  from  all  that  is 
known  of  his  character  can  it  be  for  one  moment  supposed  that 
he  discharged  them  in  any  but  the  most  kindly  and  conciliatory 
manner  towards  those  over  whom  he  ruled.  Burke  said  of  him, 
"In  full  affluence  of  foreign  and  domestic  fame,  admired  by  the 
expert  in  art  and  by  the  learned  in  science,  courted  by  the 
great,  caressed  by  sovereign  powers,  and  celebrated  by  dis- 
tinguished poets,  his  native  humility,  modesty,  and  candour 
never  forsook  him,  even  on  surprise  and  provocation  ;  nor  was 


REJECTION  OF  HONKS  PICTURES  33 

the  least  degree  of  arrogance  or  assumption  visible  to  the  most 
scrutinising  eye  in  any  part  of  his  conduct  or  discourse.  .  .  .  He 
had  too  much  merit  not  to  excite  some  jealousy,  too  much 
innocence  to  provoke  any  enmity." 

The  differences  and  quarrels  in  the  artistic  community  which 
immediately  preceded  the  formation  of  the  Royal  Academy 
show  that  the  spirits  over  whom  Reynolds  presided,  must  have 
required  very  careful  and  judicious  management,  but  there  is 
no  record  of  any  serious  friction  until  the  famous  occasion 
which  ended  in  his  temporary  resignation.  Occasionally  some 
of  the  members  seem  to  have  given  trouble  as  regards  the 
pictures  they  sent  for  exhibition.  In  1770  there  is  an  entry  in 
the  Council  minutes  that  Nathaniel  Hone  "  be  desired  to  alter 
the  crucifix  in  his  picture" — the  picture  being  a  caricature  of 
two  monks  carousing,  to  which  request  he  replied  in  a  satirical 
vein  that  he  was  "  very  sorry  ye  President  and  Council  should 
fear  that  ye  painted  wooden  cross  in  my  picture  (for  it  is  not  a 
crucifix)  should  lay  them  open  to  censure,  when  I  have  no  fear 
of  that  kind  about  me  respecting  that  article :  indeed,  I  should 
think  the  poignancy  (for  I  meant  it  as  satire)  would  lose  the 
best  part  of  its  effect,  and  therefore  can  have  no  thought  of 
altering  it,  except,"  he  goes  on  to  add,  "the  President  and 
Council  refuse  to  admit  it,"  and  then  he  will  not  only  alter  it, 
but  if  hereafter  he  "  should  send  another  unintelligible  picture 
shall  beg  ye  favour  of  ye  President  and  Council's  opinion  respect- 
ing ye  composition  before  I  send  it  to  ye  exhibition."  The 
reply  of  the  Council  is  drafted  on  the  back  of  Hone's  letter  in 
Reynolds'  own  handwriting,  and  states  that  they  "  continue  in 
the  same  opinion  in  respect  to  the  cross.  They  are  too  dull  to 
see  the  poignancy  of  the  satire  which  it  conveys.  However, 
were  the  wit  as  poignant  as  you  think  it,  it  would  be  paying 
too  dear  for  it  to  sacrifice  religion.  They  confess  they  have 
that  fear  about  them  of  offending  against  the  rules  of  decency, 
and  have  no  desire  to  ridicule  religion  or  make  the  Cross  a 
subject  for  buffoonery.  You  are  therefore  desired  to  send  for 

C 


34  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENCY 

the  picture  and  alter  it  if  you  desire  to  exhibit  it  this 
year."  The  rebuke  would  have  been  still  stronger  had 
several  words  and  sentences  which  are  erased  in  the  draft 
been  retained. 

Hone  was  again  an  offender  in  1775  with  a  picture  entitled 
"  Pictorial  Conjurer  displaying  the  whole  Art  of  Optical 
Delusion."  In  it  he  represented  a  figure,  so  it  was  contended, 
of  Reynolds  as  an  old  man  with  a  wand  in  his  hand  and  a  child 
leaning  against  his  knee,  performing  incantations  by  which  a 
number  of  prints  and  sketches,  from  which  Reynolds  had,  as  it 
was  intended  to  insinuate,  plagiarised,  were  made  to  float  in 
the  air  round  his  head.  Among  the  sketches  was  one  of  a  nude 
female  figure,  which  some  one  seems  to  have  suggested  was 
intended  for  Angelica  KaufTman.  The  picture  had  been  already 
passed  for  exhibition,  Reynolds  and  the  Council  no  doubt 
treating  the  implied  satire  on  him  with  the  contempt  it  deserved  ; 
but  an  indignant  letter  from  Angelica  Kauffman  to  the  President 
put  a  new  aspect  on  the  case.  At  first,  indeed,  they  endeavoured 
to  appease  her  susceptibilities  by  inviting  her  to  come  and  see 
the  picture,  and  then  they  sent  Chambers  to  try  to  persuade 
her  to  take  no  notice  of  the  matter.  But  the  lady  was  in  no 
mood  to  treat  it  lightly,  as  evidenced  by  her  letter  to  the  Council, 
which  was  as  follows  : — 

"  GENTLEMEN, 

"  I  have  had  the  honour  of  a  visit  from  Sir  Will. 
Chambers,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  reconcile  me  to  submit 
to  the  exhibition  of  a  picture  which  gave  me  offence.  However 
I  may  admire  the  dignity  of  the  gentlemen  who  are  superior  to 
the  malignity  of  the  author,  I  should  have  held  their  conduct 
much  more  in  admiration,  if  they  had  taken  into  consideration 
a  respect  to  the  sex  which  it  is  their  glory  to  support.  If  they 
fear  the  loss  of  an  Academician  who  pays  no  respect  to  that 
sex,  I  hope  I  may  enjoy  the  liberty  of  leaving  to  them  the 


DIFFICULTY  WITH  GAINSBOROUGH  35 

pleasure  of  that  Academician,  and  withdrawing  one  object  who 
never  willingly  deserved  his  or  their  ridicule.  I  beg  leave  to 
present  my  respects  to  the  Society  and  hope  they  will  always 
regard  their  own  honour.  I  have  but  one  request  to  make,  to 
send  home  my  pictures,  if  that  is  to  be  exhibited. 

"  I  am,  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN. 

" Golden  Square,  Tuesday  morn" 

Thus  addressed,  the  Council  hesitated  no  longer  but  resolved 
not  to  admit  Hone's  picture,  and  a  letter  was  written  to  him 
conveying  that  decision,  and  it  was  further  decided  that  if  he 
should  send  for  his  other  pictures  they  should  be  delivered  to 
him.  Hone  in  the  meantime  had  tried  to  appease  the  lady's 
anger  by  declaring  that  he  had  not  intended  to  represent  her, 
and  that  nothing  was  farther  from  his  thoughts  than  to  insult  a 
lady  whom  he  esteemed  as  "the  first  of  the  sex,  in  painting, 
and  amongst  the  loveliest  of  women  in  person,"  and  by  offering 
to  put  a  beard  and  male  attire  on  the  obnoxious  figure.  But 
the  lady  no  doubt  thought  he  did  protest  too  much,  and  declined 
to  be  convinced ;  whereupon  Hone  wrote  a  sarcastic  reply  to 
the  Academy's  letter  and  desired  that  the  rt  Conjurer "  might 
be  sent  back  to  him,  and  all  his  other  pictures  except  "  ye  Spartan 
Boy  historical,  which  I  am  willing  to  have  hung  up  from  ye  great 
respect  I  owe  ye  king  and  his  Academy." 

The  quarrel  of  Gainsborough  with  the  Academy  in  1784,  as 
to  the  hanging  of  his  group  of  the  Royal  Princesses,  was  a  very 
regrettable  incident,  which  did  not  reflect  much  credit  on  either 
side,  though  no  doubt  the  Council  acted  strictly  within  their 
rights  in  declining  to  be  dictated  to  by  any  member,  however 
distinguished ;  a  member  who,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  seems 
always  to  have  regarded  the  Academy  merely  as  an  exhibition 
shop,  and  never  to  have  taken  any  part  in  the  business,  or 


36  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENCY 

taught  as  visitor  in  the  schools;  indeed,  in  1775  the  Council 
decided  to  omit  his  name  from  the  list  of  Academicians  eligible 
to  serve  on  the  Council  or  as  visitor  to  the  schools,  etc.,  he 
"  having  declined  accepting  any  office  in  the  Academy,  and 
having  never  attended " ;  but  his  name  |was  restored  by  the 
General  Assembly.  Moreover,  in  the  previous  year,  1783,  he 
had  sent  a  letter  to  "the  Committee  of  Gentlemen  appointed  to 
hang  the  pictures  of  the  Royal  Exhibition,"  in  which  he  presents 
his  compliments  to  them,  and  "  begs  leave  to  hint  to  them  that 
if  The  Royal  Family  which  he  has  sent  for  this  exhibition 
(being  smaller  than  three-quarters),  are  hung  above  the  line 
along  with  full-lengths,  he  never  more,  while  he  breathes,  will 
send  another  picture  to  the  exhibition.  This  he  swears  by 
God"  With  it  he  sent  a  friendly  letter  to  the  secretary,  Newton, 
and  a  sketch  of  how  the  pictures  were  to  be  hung.  There  is 
no  mention  of  the  matter,  however,  in  the  Council  minutes,  and 
we  may  conclude  that  the  Council  took  no  official  cognisance 
of  the  letter,  and  humoured  him  by  doing  what  he  wanted. 

But  when  the  next  year  brought  a  similar  letter,  couched, 
it  is  true,  in  less  forcible  terms,  and  begging  pardon  for 
giving  so  much  trouble,  but  stating  that  "  as  he  has  painted  the 
picture  of  the  Princesses  [a  group  of  the  Princess  Royal,  Princess 
Augusta,  and  Princess  Elizabeth]  in  so  tender  a  light,  that  not- 
withstanding he  approves  very  much  of  the  established  line  for 
strong  effects,  he  cannot  possibly  consent  to  have  it  placed 
higher  than  five  feet  and  a  half,  because  the  likenesses  and  work 
of  the  picture  will  not  be  seen  any  higher  ;  therefore,  at  a  word, 
he  will  not  trouble  the  gentlemen  against  their  inclination,  but 
will  beg  the  rest  of  his  pictures  back  again" — it  is  hardly 
surprising  that  the  Council  decided  to  inform  him  that,  in 
compliance  with  his  request,  they  had  ordered  his  pictures  to  be 
taken  down  and  delivered  to  his  order.  Nor  perhaps  is  it  more 
to  be  wondered  at  that  he  never  sent  a  picture  again.  There 
must,  however,  have  been  some  sort  of  a  reconciliation,  for  in 
the  Council  minutes  of  I3th  September  1787,  there  is  the  follow- 


REYNOLDS'  QUARREL  WITH  THE  ACADEMY  37 

ing  entry : — "  Mr  Garvey  reported  that  Mr  Gainsborough  had 
promised  to  paint  a  picture  for  the  chimney  in  the  Council-room, 
in  the  place  of  that  formerly  proposed  to  be  painted  by  Mr 
Cipriani "  ;  a  promise  which  his  illness  and  death  in  the  following 
year  prevented  the  fulfilment  of. 

With  a  few  slight  exceptions,  of  which  the  above  may  be 
taken  as  specimens,  no  serious  discord  had  arisen  within  the 
Academic  ranks  under  Sir  Joshua's  rule.  But  in  1790  differences 
showed  themselves  which  ended  in  his  temporary  resignation. 
The  story  is  told  at  considerable  length  in  Leslie  and  Taylor's 
Life  of  Reynolds,  all  the  documents  relating  to  it  in  the 
Academy  archives  having  been  carefully  gone  through  by  the 
former,  and  compared  with  Farington's  account  in  his  Life  of 
Reynolds,  which  is  adverse  to  Reynolds,  and  with  the  memor- 
anda made  by  Reynolds  himself  of  the  dissention  and  its  cause. 
It  is  probable  that,  as  is  usually  the  case,  there  were  faults  on 
both  sides,  but  it  is  difficult  to  escape  from  the  conclusion  that 
if  Reynolds  was  in  any  way  to  blame,  those  members  who, 
as  Malone  said,  "have  driven  him  from  the  Chair  of  the 
Academy,"  were  much  more  deserving  of  censure  for  their 
conduct  to  one  to  whom  the  Institution  to  which  they 
belonged  owed  so  much. 

The  quarrel  first  began  by  Reynolds  giving  his  casting  vote 
for  Bonomi  as  an  Associate  against  Sawrey  Gilpin  at  the 
election  on  2nd  November  1789;  the  suffrages  being  ten  for 
Bonomi  and  ten  for  Gilpin.  He  had  for  some  time  been  urging 
the  Academicians  to  fill  up  the  professorship  of  Perspective, 
which  had  remained  vacant  for  three  years,  and  had  recommended 
Bonomi  as  a  fit  man  for  the  post.  Bonomi,  however,  was  not 
even  an  Associate,  and  the  professors  could  only  be  elected  from 
the  Academicians.  His  election  as  an  Associate  was  the  first 
step  towards  what  Reynolds  desired  ;  but  the  fact  that  it  had 
been  accomplished  by  Reynolds'  casting  vote,  and  that  Bonomi 
now  stood  on  the  same  ground  as  Edward  Edwards,  another 
Associate  whom  a  certain  party  in  the  Academy  had  determined 


38  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENCY 

should  be  professor,  made  them  extremely  angry,  and  they 
resolved  that  the  next  vacancy  in  the  ranks  of  the  Academicians 
should  be  filled  by  Edwards,  though  they  subsequently,  as  it 
appears,  transferred  their  votes  to  Fuseli  as  a  more  likely 
candidate.  In  the  meantime  the  Council  had  informed  Mr 
Edwards,  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  his  demanding  permission  to 
give  a  specimen  lecture  in  Perspective  before  the  Academicians 
and  Associates  only,  that  it  was  their  unanimous  opinion  that 
whoever  was  a  candidate  to  be  an  Academician  for  the  purpose 
of  being  hereafter  Professor  of  Perspective,  must  produce  a 
drawing,  and  the  President  acting  on  this  decision,  informed 
Bonomi  that  his  drawings  should  be  sent  to  the  Academy  on 
the  day  fixed  for  the  election,  loth  February  1790.  Edwards 
had  previously  declared  in  a  letter  to  the  President  that  if 
specimens  were  required,  he  was  past  being  a  boy  and  should 
produce  none. 

Meantime,  however,  as  we  have  said,  the  opposition  had 
dropped  Edwards  in  favour  of  Fuseli,  and  reinforced  by  the 
opinion  and  support  of  Sir  William  Chambers,  had  taken  up 
the  ground  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  fill  up  the  professor- 
ship of  Perspective.  Chambers  had  previously  written  to 
Reynolds  reprimanding  him  for  having  given  a  "  charge  to  the 
Academicians  "  as  to  their  duty  in  filling  the  vacant  chair,  and 
subsequently  informed  him  that  he  meant  to  join  the  malcontents. 
One  can  hardly  help  suspecting  that  Chambers,  in  taking  this 
extreme  step,  must  have  been,  more  or  less  consciously,  actuated 
by  a  feeling  of  professional  jealousy  of  Bonomi,  and  also  of 
irritation  against  Reynolds  for  not  giving  way  to  his  opinion, 
he  having  been  accustomed,  as  Reynolds  himself  used  half 
jocularly  to  admit,  to  be  master  inside  the  Academy.  He  had 
previously  complained  of  Bonomi  being  a  "foreigner,"  and 
asked  Reynolds  why  he  would  persevere  in  his  favour  "as 
though  no  Englishman  could  be  found  capable  of  filling  a 
Professor's  Chair'";  a  sentiment  which  Reynolds  heard  with 
surprise  and  indignation  and  characterised  as  "illiberal  and 


THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  QUARREL  39 

unworthy,"  adding  that  "our  Royal  Academy,  with  great 
propriety,  makes  no  distinction  between  natives  and  foreigners ; 
that  it  was  not  our  business  to  examine  where  a  genius  was 
born  before  he  was  admitted  into  our  society ;  it  was  sufficient 
that  the  candidate  had  merit."  And  he  further  adds,  "  though 
this  aversion  to  a  foreigner  may  be  justly  suspected  still  to  lurk 
in  the  bosoms  of  our  Royal  Academicians,  yet  it  is  kept  under 
and  uttered  only  in  a  whisper.  I  take,  therefore,  credit  to 
myself  that  the  Academy  has  not  been  basely  disgraced  by  any 
act  founded  upon  an  open  avowal  of  such  illiberal  opinions." 
These  opinions,  however,  if  entertained,  were  conveniently  laid 
aside  when  it  was  found  that  Fuseli,  also  a  foreigner,  was  a 
more  likely  candidate  than  Edwards  to  defeat  Bonomi  and  so 
thwart  Reynolds. 

The  match  was  put  to  the  smouldering  flame  of  rebellion 
when,  on  the  day  of  election,  loth  February  1790,  Reynolds, 
noticing  that  Bonomi's  drawings  were  in  a  dark  corner,  ordered 
them  to  be  placed  where  they  could  be  seen.  He  then  stated 
the  business  of  the  meeting,  and  exhorted  those  present  to 
"  elect  him  who  was  qualified  and  willing  to  accept  the  office  of 
Professor  of  Perspective,  which  had  been  vacant  for  so  many 
years,  to  the  great  disgrace  of  the  Academy " ;  adding,  "  the 
question,  Ay  or  No,  is — Is  the  author  of  these  drawings,  which 
are  on  the  table,  qualified  or  not  qualified,  for  the  office  he 
solicits  ?  "  Thereupon  Tyler,  who  was  the  spokesman  of  the 
malcontents,  asked  who  ordered  the  drawings  to  be  sent  to  the 
Academy ;  and  on  the  President  replying  that  he  did,  Tyler 
moved  that  they  be  put  out  of  the  room.  Banks  seconded  the 
motion  on  a  show  of  hands,  and  it  was  carried  by  a  large 
majority,  who,  on  the  President  wishing  to  make  an  explanation, 
refused  to  hear  it,  thereby  showing  what  we  must  agree  with 
Reynolds  in  calling  "  the  rude  spirit  and  gross  manners  of  the 
cabal."  The  election  was  then  proceeded  with,  and  Fuseli 
chosen  on  the  final  ballot  by  twenty-one  votes  to  nine  given 
for  Bonomi.  The  next  morning  Reynolds  resigned,  so  at  least 


40  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENCY 

he  says  in  the  MS.  account  from  which  these  particulars  are 
taken,  but  the  letter  conveying  his  resignation  is  dated  22nd 
February,  twelve  days  after  the  election  at  which  the  events  we 
have  narrated  took  place.  It  is  as  follows : — 

"  Leicester  Fields,  22nd  February  1790. 
"  SIR, 

"  I  beg  you  would  inform  the  Council,  which,  I  under- 
stand, meet  this  evening,  with  my  fixed  resolution  of  resigning 
the  Presidency  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  consequently  my 
seat  as  Academician.  As  I  can  be  no  longer  of  any  service  to 
the  Academy  as  President,  it  would  be  still  less  in  my  power  in 
a  subordinate  station.  I  therefore  now  take  my  final  leave  of 
the  Academy  with  my  sincere  good  wishes  for  its  prosperity, 
and  with  all  due  respect  to  its  members. 

"  I  am,  Sir, 

"  Your  most  humble  and  most  obedient  servant, 
"JOSHUA  REYNOLDS. 

"P. S. — Sir  Wm.  Chambers  has  two  letters  of  mine,  either 
of  which  or  both  he  is  at  full  liberty  to  communicate  to  the 
Council. 

"  To  the  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Academy." 

These  letters  and  the  letter  of  resignation  were  read  at 
the  Council  on  23rd  February,  and  at  the  General  Assembly 
specially  summoned  on  3rd  March.  It  is  probable  that  in  the 
twelve  days'  interval  already  spoken  of,  Chambers  had 
endeavoured  to  change  Reynolds'  resolution,  as  in  the  two 
letters  which  contain  a  statement  of  the  motives  of  his  action, 
and  his  reasons  for  resigning,  he  refers  to  the  "gracious  and 
condescending  message  which  His  Majesty  has  been  pleased 


REYNOLDS'  RESIGNATION  41 

to  send  through  you  (Chambers),  expressing  his  desire  for  my 
continuance  as  President  of  his  Academy,"  which  message  he 
adds  he  received  "  with  most  profound  respect  and  the  warmest 
gratitude,  as  a  consolation  of  my  retreat,  and  the  greatest 
honour  of  my  life."  All  the  same  he  adheres  to  his  determina- 
tion to  resign  both  the  Presidency  and  his  membership  of  the 
Academy. 

So  far  the  malcontents  were  not  disposed  to  make  any 
overtures  to  him,  as  at  the  General  Assembly,  on  3rd  March, 
they  passed  a  resolution  thanking  him  for  the  able  and  attentive 
manner  in  which  he  had  for  so  many  years  discharged  his  duty 
as  President,  and  also  decided  to  summon  a  General  Assembly 
for  Saturday,  1 3th  March,  "  to  elect  a  President  in  the  room  of 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds."  The  former  resolution  is  alluded  to  by 
Reynolds  in  his  MS.,  where  he  says  he  has  "had  the  honour 
of  receiving  it,  but,"  he  adds,  "  as  if  some  demon  still  preserved 
his  influence  in  this  society,  that  nothing  should  be  rightly 
done,  these  thanks  were  not  signed  by  the  Chairman,  according 
to  regulation,  but  by  the  Secretary  alone,  and  sent  to  the 
President  in  the  manner  of  a  common  note,  closed  with  a  wafer, 
and  without  even  an  envelope,  and  presented  to  the  President 
by  the  hands  of  the  common  errand-boy  of  the  Academy,  not 
as  a  resolution,  but  'the  Secretary  was  desired  to  inform.' 
Whether  this  was  studied  neglect  or  ignorance  of  propriety,  I 
have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  so  much  at  least  may  be  dis- 
covered, that  the  persons  who  have  now  taken  upon  themselves 
the  direction  of  the  Royal  Academy  are  as  little  versed  in  the 
requisites  of  civil  intercourse  as  they  appear  to  be  unknowing 
of  the  more  substantial  interest  and  true  honour  of  that  society 
of  which  they  are  members."  From  which  it  may  be  inferred 
that  Reynolds  was  thoroughly  roused,  and  determined  to  stand 
upon  his  dignity. 

Meantime  the  public  began  to  take  part  in  the  quarrel,  and 
the  newspapers  attacked  both  sides,  but  the  general  feel- 
ing was  strongly  in  favour  of  Reynolds.  As  Gibbon  wrote  to 


42  THE  FIRST  PRESIDENCY 

him,  "  I  hear  you  have  had  a  quarrel  with  your  Academicians. 
Fools  as  they  are !  for  such  is  the  tyranny  of  character,  that 
no  one  will  believe  that  your  enemies  can  be  in  the  right." 
Lord  Carlisle  sent  him  a  poetic  address,  beginning— 

"Too  wise  for  contest,  and  too  meek  for  strife, 
Like  Lear,  oppress'd  by  those  you  rais'd  to  life, 
Thy  sceptre  broken,  thy  dominion  o'er, 
The  curtain  falls,  and  thou  art  king  no  more." 

And  concluding — 

"Desert  not  then  thy  sons,  those  sons  who  soon 
Will  mourn  with  me  and  all  their  errors  own. 
Thou  must  excuse  that  raging  fire,  the  same 
Which  lights  the  daily  course  to  endless  fame, 
Alas  !  impels  them  thoughtless  far  to  stray 
From  filial  love  and  Reason's  sober  sway, 
Accept  again  thy  power — resume  the  chair — 
Nor  leave  it  till  you  place  an  equal  there ! " 

An  exhortation  to  both  sides,  which  happily  proved  pro- 
phetic, for  when  the  General  Assembly  met  on  I3th  March, 
instead  of  proceeding  to  elect  a  President,  they  passed  two 
resolutions,  one  stating  that  "  on  inquiry  it  was  their  opinion 
that  the  President  had  acted  in  conformity  with  the  intention 
of  the  Council  in  directing  Mr  Bonomi  to  send  in  his  draw- 
ings, but  that  the  general  meeting,  not  having  been  informed 
of  or  having  consented  to  the  new  regulation,  had  judged  the 
introduction  of  the  drawings  irregular  and  had  ordered  them 
to  be  withdrawn."  And  the  second,  that  "  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds' declared  objection  to  his  resuming  the  chair  being  done 
away,  a  committee  be  appointed  to  wait  on  him  requesting 
him,  that  in  obedience  to  the  gracious  desires  of  His  Majesty, 
and  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Academy,  he  would 
withdraw  his  letter  of  resignation."  This  committee  consisted 
of  Thos.  Sandby,  Bacon,  Copley,  Russell,  Catton,  West,  Cosway, 
Farington,  and  the  Secretary.  He  received  them  with  every 
mark  of  satisfaction,  expressed  his  pleasure  in  acceding  to  the 


HIS  RESUMPTION  OF  THE  CHAIR  43 

request,    and    to    cement    the    reconciliation    in    true    British 
fashion,  asked  the  committee  to  dine  with  him  that   day. 

Three  days  afterwards  another  General  Assembly  was  held 
at  which  the  delegates  announced  the  success  of  their  mission, 
and  Reynolds  himself  attended  and  confirmed  their  report,  but 
did  not  think  he  was  authorised  to  resume  the  chair  till  he 
had  obtained  His  Majesty's  leave.  This  was  soon  received, 
and  on  i8th  March  he  again  appeared  in  the  President's 
chair  at  the  Council,  and  on  the  3Oth  at  a  General  Assembly. 
But  his  resumption  of  the  reins  was  not  destined,  alas !  to  be 
of  long  duration,  and  he  took  his  seat  for  the  last  time  before 
his  death  on  i/th  July  1791.  Nor  was  this  short  period 
without  its  troubles.  On  25th  June,  Reynolds  proposed  to 
the  Council  that  the  Academy  should  contribute  ;£ioo  towards 
the  monument  to  be  erected  in  St  Paul's  to  Samuel  Johnson, 
but  the  question  was  referred  to  the  General  Assembly.  It  met 
on  2nd  July,  and  was  the  last  that  Reynolds  attended.  After 
the  transaction  of  some  preliminary  business,  a  letter  was  read 
from  Chambers  expressing  strong  disapproval  of  the  proposed 
grant,  as  being  for  an  object  outside  those  for  which  the 
Academy  was  founded,  and  in  itself  inappropriate — "as  well," 
he  says,  "  propose  the  erection  of  a  Triumphal  Arch  to  Lord 
Heathfield,  or  a  Mausoleum  to  the  inventor  of  fire  engines,  or  a 
statue  to  any  other  person  whose  pursuits  and  whose  excellence 
lay  wholly  wide  of  ours."  A  sensible  opinion,  it  may  be,  looking 
to  the  then  state  of  the  Academy  funds  and  the  requirements 
they  had  to  meet,  but  an  essentially  narrow-minded  one,  and 
one  which,  under  the  circumstances,  must  have  been  peculiarly 
distasteful  to  Reynolds.  The  proposal  was  carried  on  the 
motion  of  West,  whose  reason  for  supporting  it  was  not  so  much 
admiration  for  Johnson  as  the  hope  that  the  erection  of  monu- 
ments in  St  Paul's  would  "open  a  new  field  for  the  display 
of  the  abilities  of  our  brethren."  When,  however,  the  proposal 
was  submitted  to  the  king  for  his  approval,  he,  acting  no  doubt 
under  Chambers'  advice,  declined  to  sanction  it. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS 

THE  first  meeting  of  the  newly-constituted  Royal  Academy 
was  held  on  I4th  December,  four  days  after  the  "  Instrument " 
of  its  institution  had  been  signed  by  the  king.  Twenty-eight 
of  the  thirty-four  nominated  Academicians  were  present,  and 
their  first  business  was  to  severally  sign  what  is  called  the 
"Obligation,"  which  ran  as  follows: — 

"  His  Majesty  having  been  graciously  pleased  to  institute 
and  establish  a  society  for  promoting  the  Arts  of  Design, 
under  the  name  and  title  of  the  '  Royal  Academy  of  Arts/ 
in  London ;  and  having  signified  his  royal  intention  that  the 
said  society  should  be  established  under  certain  laws  and 
regulations,  contained  in  the  Instrument  of  the  establishment 
signed  by  His  Majesty's  own  hand : 

"  We,  therefore,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  either 
original  or  elected  members  of  the  said  society,  do  promise, 
each  for  himself,  to  observe  all  the  laws  and  regulations  con- 
tained in  the  said  Instrument ;  as,  also,  all  other  laws,  bye- 
laws,  or  regulations,  either  made  or  hereafter  to  be  made,  for 
the  better  government  of  the  above-named  society  ;  promising, 
furthermore,  on  every  occasion  to  employ  our  utmost  endea- 
vours to  promote  the  honour  and  interest  of  the  establishment, 
so  long  as  we  shall  continue  members  thereof." 

This  Obligation,  which  is  written  at  the  head  of  a  large 
sheet  of  parchment,  has  been  signed — the  signatures  now  ex- 

44 


THE  "OBLIGATION"  45 

tending  to  a  second  sheet — by  every  Royal  Academician 
down  to  the  present  day.  The  ceremony  takes  place  at  a 
General  Assembly  of  the  Academicians,  to  which  the  newly- 
elected  one  is  introduced  by  the  two  junior  members  present. 
After  hearing  the  Obligation  read  by  the  Secretary,  he  affixes 
his  signature  to  it,  and  then  receives  his  diploma,  signed  by 
the  sovereign,  from  the  President,  afterwards  entering  his 
name  in  the  attendance-book,  and  taking  his  seat  in  the 
assembly.  As  has  been  explained  in  a  former  article,  the 
diploma  was  not  in  existence  at  the  first  meeting ;  it  was 
not  decided  upon  till  May  1769. 

The  next  business  to  which  this  first  meeting  proceeded 
was  the  election  of  the  President  and  the  Council,  of  the 
Visitors  in  the  schools,  and  of  those  executive  officers — the 
Secretary  and  the  Keeper  —  who,  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  the  Instrument,  were  to  be  chosen  by  ballot  from 
among  the  Academicians,  and  subsequently  approved  of  by 
His  Majesty.  The  appointment  to  the  treasurership  the 
king  retained  in  his  own  hands  entirely.  To  quote  the 
Instrument, "  There  shall  be  a  Treasurer  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
who,  as  the  king  is  graciously  pleased  to  pay  all  deficiencies, 
shall  be  appointed  by  His  Majesty  from  among  the  Academi- 
cians, that  he  may  have  a  person  in  whom  he  places  full  con- 
fidence in  an  office  where  his  interest  is  concerned."  The 
Librarianship  was  not  established  till  1770,  and  the  appoint- 
ment was  then  made  direct  by  the  king.  This  is  not  the 
time  to  speak  at  length  of  the  various  changes  that  have 
been  made  in  the  tenure  of,  and  mode  of  election  to,  these 
different  offices  since  their  institution.  But  it  may  be  stated 
briefly  that  the  only  one  that  has  undergone  no  change,  save 
in  having  become  a  salaried  instead  of  an  unsalaried  post,  is 
the  Presidentship.  The  Council,  on  which  every  Academician 
serves  in  rotation  for  two  years,  consists  of  ten  instead  of  eight 
members ;  the  Visitors,  many  more  in  number  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  various  schools  that  have  since  been 


46  THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS 

established  in  addition  to  the  original  life  school,  are  now 
chosen  from  among  the  Associates  as  well  as  the  Academicians ; 
the  Treasurer  and  the  Librarian  are  no  longer  appointed  by 
the  sovereign,  but  like  the  Keeper  are  elected  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Academicians,  and  approved  of  by  the 
sovereign,  and  have,  moreover,  to  present  themselves  for 
re-election  every  five  years  ;  while  the  Secretary,  though  still 
elected  by  the  General  Assembly  and  approved  of  by  the 
sovereign,  is  not  a  member  of  the  Academy. 

It  may  seem  fitting  here  to  give  some  account  of  the  men 
who  first  filled  these  chief  executive  offices  of  Treasurer, 
Secretary,  Keeper,  and  Librarian — Chambers,  Newton,  Moser, 
and  Hayman. 

SIR  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS,  R.A. 

The  fame  and  genius  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  as  a  painter 
and  a  writer  have  invested  the  first  years  of  the  Royal 
Academy  with  a  splendour  which,  parvis  componere  magna, 
inclines  us  to  look  upon  his  presidency  as  the  Augustan  era 
of  its  history :  but  from  what  we  have  already  written  of  the 
constitution  and  management  of  the  Institution,  the  reader 
will  have  perceived  that  there  were  other  agents  who  possessed 
an  almost  equal  influence  in  its  councils,  who  were  responsible 
to  an  almost  equal  extent  for  its  actions,  and  who  must  therefore 
bear  an  almost  equal  share  of  any  blame  which  may  attach 
to  it  and  partake  an  almost  equal  share  of  its  glory.  Of 
those  agents  the  principal  was  Sir  William  Chambers.  He 
was  in  fact  a  prime  mover  in  bringing  about  the  foundation 
of  the  Academy,  and  continued  till  his  death  to  exercise  an 
enormous  influence  in  its  decisions.  The  following  is  a  short 
outline  of  his  history. 

There  was  once  upon  a  time,  say  the  biographers,  a  Scot- 
tish family  living  in  France  bearing  the  name  of  Chalmers ; 
a  descendant  of  that  family  was  a  merchant  and  lent  money  and 


SIR  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS  47 

warlike  stores  to  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden,  by  which  he  naturally 
lost  In  1726  this  Chalmers  was  in  Stockholm  endeavouring  to 
obtain  restitution,  and  there,  in  the  same  year,  a  son  was  born 
to  him  who  was  christened  William.  Subsequently,  for  no 
reasons  stated,  the  family  name  was  changed  to  Chambers.  The 
father  removed  to  Ripon,  in  Yorkshire,  where  the  boy  was 
educated.  The  connection  with  Sweden  was,  however,  kept  up, 
as  we  find  William  at  the  age  of  sixteen  embarking  as  super- 
cargo on  board  a  vessel  of  the  Swedish  East  India  Company. 
He  made  two  voyages  in  its  service  and  visited  China,  where  he 
imbibed  a  strong  taste  for  that  peculiar  kind  of  scenery  which 
is  so  beautifully  represented  in  the  willow-pattern  plate,  and  on 
his  return  published  a  series  of  sketches  in  illustration  of  it.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  forsook  the  career  of  the  sea,  and  devoted 
himself  to  architecture,  but  in  spite  of  Vitruvius  and  the  study 
of  the  works  of  the  greatest  architects  of  the  Italian  Renaissance, 
he  never  quite  got  rid  of  the  crotchet  he  had  picked  up  in  the 
Celestial  Empire.  In  the  fulness  of  his  maturity,  when  enjoying 
a  great  reputation,  he  published  works  on  Chinese  architecture, 
and  when  entrusted  with  the  laying  out  of  Kew  Gardens  he  put 
his  early  predilections  into  practice.  He  was  then  Treasurer 
of  the  Royal  Academy,  Comptroller  of  the  Office  of  Works, 
Surveyor  -  General  to  the  king ;  and  was  consequently  con- 
sidered by  an  envious  world  as  an  eligible  and  deserving 
person  to  assail.  To  vindicate  his  taste  he  published  his 
Dissertation  on  Oriental  Gardening,  which  is  certainly  a 
worse  literary  sin  than  any  he  had  committed  horticulturally. 
It  is  an  exaggeration  of  all  the  defects  of  Rasselas,  and  called 
forth  a  terrible  rejoinder  from  the  combined  forces  of  Horace 
Walpole  and  William  Mason,  in  the  "  Heroic  Epistle,"  a  mock 
heroic  poem  which  is  a  travesty  of  all  the  bombastic  passages 
in  the  work  of  Chambers. 

His  connection  with  the  Court  began  early.  When  George 
III.  was  Prince  of  Wales,  a  tutor  was  wanted  for  him  in 
architecture,  and  Chambers  was  selected.  He  had  every  quali- 


48  THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS 

fication ;  he  was  learned  and  very  skilful  as  a  draughtsman,  he 
had  travelled  and  mixed  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
his  manners  were  easy  and  engaging,  and  he  possessed  tact. 
When  the  Prince  succeeded  to  the  throne,  Chambers  was 
appointed  royal  architect,  and  subsequently  Comptroller  of  the 
Office  of  Works  and  Surveyor-General.  By  his  influence  with 
the  king  he  was  mainly  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the 
formation  of  the  Royal  Academy,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  and 
his  business-like  ability  served  to  steer  it  successfully  through 
its  early  difficulties.  He  was  no  doubt  meddlesome  and  fond 
of  having  things  his  own  way,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  he 
was  to  the  Royal  Academy  what  Omar  was  to  Mohammedanism, 
and  Napoleon  to  the  Directory  :  the  esprit  organisatoirey  without 
which  it  might  not  have  got  into  working  order  quite  so  quickly. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  the  part  taken  by  him  in  the  quarrel 
which  ended  in  the  temporary  resignation  of  Reynolds,  and 
alluded  to  the  further  difference  of  opinion  between  them  as  to 
the  subscription  to  Johnson's  monument ;  both  episodes  being 
significative  of  the  influence  possessed  by  Chambers  both  over 
the  king  and  the  members  of  the  Academy.  With  these  two 
exceptions,  however,  he  and  the  President  appear  to  have 
worked  in  perfect  harmony,  the  latter,  no  doubt,  being  in  the 
habit  of  very  much  deferring  to  Chambers  in  all  matters  of 
business. 

His  greatest  title  to  posthumous  fame  is  the  Treatise  on 
Civil  Architecture,  which  remains  to  this  day  an  admirable 
digest  of  the  proportions  and  methods  of  construction  used  by 
the  great  Italian  architects  of  the  Renaissance,  and  borrowed 
by  them  from  Vitruvius  and  the  Romans.  It  is  a  work  of  great 
research,  and  is  animated  by  an  enthusiasm  for  the  subject 
which  has  a  tendency  to  become  contagious. 

Somerset  House,  where  the  Royal  Academy  had  its  home 
for  so  many  years,  is  Chambers'  principal  work  in  archi- 
tecture. A  noble  and  imposing  edifice,  and  as  complete  and 
irreproachable  probably  as  any  public  building  in  London,  it 


»   * 

'»   »  « 


ii 

5  £ 

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FRANCIS  MILNER  NEWTON  49 

would  be  as  unfair  to  blame  Chambers  for  the  monotony  of  it's 
wall  spaces  and  the  wearisome  repetitions  of  rustication,  which 
offend  our  eyes,  as  it  would  be  for  future  generations  to  blame 
the  architects  of  the  past  for  the  redundance  of  detail  and  the 
exuberance  of  terra-cotta  which  characterise  our  street  archi- 
tecture at  the  present  day.  In  this  country,  for  some  mysterious 
reason,  the  art  had  in  the  days  of  Chambers  lost  its  vitality  to 
all  appearance  irrecoverably.  It  had  become  an  outcome  of 
erudition  and  a  combination  of  examples,  instead  of  ministering 
naturally  and  spontaneously  to  the  requirements  of  the  builders. 
Chambers  elected  to  design  his  building  in  the  style  of  Palladio, 
as  we  elect  to  design  a  church  in  the  style  of  William  of  Wyke- 
ham,  or  a  private  residence  in  the  style  of  Queen  Anne's  time — 
not  having  any  style  of  our  own ;  and  whatever  may  be  the 
defects  of  Somerset  House  from  the  decorative  point  of  view,  it 
seems  to  be  a  comfortable  and  commodious  building,  admirably 
adapted  to  its  purpose. 

The  publication  of  the  "Heroic  Epistle"  must  have  been 
very  annoying  to  Chambers ;  ridicule  of  such  a  pungent  kind 
seems  to  have  all  the  more  sting  when  it  attacks  a  reputation 
which  is  well  deserved,  as  it  is  all  the  more  popular  when  levelled 
against  a  man  who  occupies  an  exalted  position  ;  but  he  no 
doubt  soon  forgot  it,  and  solaced  his  last  years  of  declining 
health  with  the  society  of  the  most  eminent  and  intellectual  of 
his  contemporaries,  Burke,  Johnson,  Reynolds,  and  Garrick. 
He  died,  having  attained  the  Psalmist's  appointed  term  of 
human  life,  in  wealth  and  honour,  in  March  1796,  and  was 
buried  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

FRANCIS  MILNER  NEWTON,  R.A. 

Newton  was  the  first  secretary  of  the  Royal  Academy.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  he  filled  the  same  post  to  the  Incor- 
porated Society  of  Artists,  that  when  that  society  was  rent  in 
twain  by  dissensions  he  had  been  deposed,  and  that  his  signature 

D 


50  THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS 

appears  in  the  memorial  which  was  afterwards  presented  to  the 
king  and  led  to  the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Academy.  He 
was  born  in  London  in  1720,  and  was  a  pupil  of  the  Nurem- 
berg artist  Tuscher :  he  practised  portrait  painting  exclusively. 
Exclusive  portrait  painting  was  in  those  days  often  forced  upon 
artists  by  the  conditions  of  patronage.  In  Newton's  case,  how- 
ever, that  consideration  could  not  have  been  all-powerful,  and  it 
is  more  probable  that  his  genius — supposing  that  he  possessed 
one — found  its  grave  in  the  repeated  legacies  which  it  pleased 
capricious  fortune  to  afflict  him  with ;  her  coup  de  grdce,  which 
entirely  extinguished  him,  being  the  possession  of  a  handsome 
estate  at  Barton  House,  near  Taunton,  whither  he  retired  to 
languish  in  opulence  until  his  death  in  1794. 

He  performed  the  duties  of  secretary  for  exactly  twenty 
years,  and  on  his  retirement  in  1788  was  presented  by  the 
Academy,  on  the  motion  of  the  Council,  with  a  silver  cup  of  the 
value  of  eighty  guineas,  as — so  runs  the  resolution  in  the  minutes 
— "  an  acknowledgment  of  their  perfect  satisfaction  in  the  able, 
faithful,  and  diligent  discharge  of  his  duty  as  secretary."  The 
way  in  which  he  kept  the  minute-books  and  other  records  shows 
evidence  of  great  care  and  neatness,  and  of  a  certain  terse, 
business-like  power  of  expression. 

Dates  are  unsatisfactory  things,  and  hard  to  master.  New- 
ton's life  overlapped  that  of  Reynolds  by  two  years  at  each  end, 
and  the  mere  figures  1720  to  1794  do  not  seem  to  convey 
anything  very  definite ;  but  we  get  a  very  different  idea  if  we 
translate  these  dates  into  the  language  of  events.  He  was  born 
in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  of  the  South-Sea  Bubble,  and  he 
died  when  the  last  tail  of  Robespierre's  followers,  the  miscreants 
of  the  Terror,  were  being  swiftly  got  rid  of  on  the  Place  de  la 
Revolution,  in  Paris.  The  humblest  life,  did  we  possess  authentic 
annals,  would  probably  be  of  surpassing  interest.  Newton's  is 
not  to  be  ranked  in  that  class  ;  he  was  not  a  great  artist,  and  is 
absolutely  unknown  to  fame  ;  but  he  occupied  a  very  honourable 
position  and  performed  its  duties  worthily ;  he  lived  in  stirring 


GEORGE  MICHAEL  MOSER  51 

times,  with  great  men  as  his  friends  and  associates ;  we  are 
bound  to  respect  his  memory,  and  can  only  regret  that  we  do 
not  know  more  of  him. 


GEORGE  MICHAEL  MOSER,  R.A. 

G.  M.  Moser,  first  Keeper  of  the  Royal  Academy,  was  born 
at  SchafThausen,  in  Switzerland,  in  1704.  In  an  obituary  notice 
of  him  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  he  is  described  as  "  in  every  sense 
the  father  of  the  present  race  of  artists."  We  beg  very  humbly 
to  demur,  in  spite  of  the  great  authority  we  have  quoted,  that 
there  is  one  very  obvious  and  literal  sense  which  must  form  an 
exception.  This  necessity  will  force  itself  on  everybody's  reason, 
and  needs  no  discussion.  What  Reynolds  meant,  no  doubt,  was 
that  Moser  had  exercised  great  influence  in  his  day.  His  name, 
indeed,  is  connected  with  the  earliest  schemes  for  the  formation 
of  an  Academy ;  and  as  Keeper,  his  skill  in  teaching,  his  great 
influence  over  his  pupils,  and  his  "  universal  knowledge  of  all 
branches  of  painting  and  sculpture,"  had  done  much  to  mould 
the  latest  generation  of  artists.  Farther  than  this  the  process 
of  affiliation  need  not  be  carried.  What  we  know  for  certain  is 
that  he  had  a  daughter  who  was  an  artist,  and  that  he  and  the 
said  daughter,  Mary,  passed  into  the  ranks  of  the  elect  without 
more  ado  on  one  glorious  day  of  family  apotheosis.  At  the 
outset,  the  ranks  of  the  Royal  Academicians  had  occasionally 
to  be  recruited  from  the  byways  of  Art,  but  his  claims  and 
qualifications,  as  well  as  those  of  his  daughter,  would  hardly  have 
been  considered  valid  a  very  few  years  after  the  foundation  of 
the  institution. 

In  the  little  academy  in  St  Martin's  Lane,  where  Hogarth 
used  to  draw,  Moser  had  been  a  busy  and  important  man.  He 
was  manager  and  treasurer.  He  was  clever,  had  a  competent 
knowledge  of  the  construction  of  the  human  figure,  and  may 
very  probably  have  shown  an  aptitude  for  imparting  that 
knowledge,  so  that,  in  the  formation  of  the  Royal  Academy, 


52  THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS 

they  naturally  thought  of  him  as  an  eligible  man  to  fill  the 
office  of  Keeper  or  head  of  the  schools,  an  important  post 
requiring  artistic  knowledge  and  skill,  combined  with  that 
peculiar  power  which  by  no  means  universally  accompanies 
knowledge,  the  power  of  imparting  it. 

But  although  the  Keeper's  is  the  only  will  which  can  assert 
itself  permanently  in  the  schools,  the  education  is  really  in  the 
hands  of  the  Visitors — i.e.,  the  Academicians  and  Associates 
elected  to  serve  for  one  month  in  each  school.  This  marks 
the  most  radical  difference  between  the  Academy  of  this 
country  and  that  of  other  nations,  where  every  department  is 
under  a  permanent  professor  armed  with  full  authority. 

Each  system  has  its  advantages  and  its  corresponding  dis- 
advantages, and  it  is  in  the  nature  of  the  case  that  no  via  media 
is  possible. 

Under  a  permanent  professor,  there  can  be  no  vacillation  or 
change  of  purpose,  his  will  asserts  itself  equally  and  uniformly, 
and  the  progress  made  is  more  apparent.  But  it  might  be  more 
apparent  than  real.  It  is  asking  too  much  of  human  nature,  or 
asking  what  human  nature  only  supplies  in  very  rare  instances, 
to  expect  that  a  teacher  will  be  able  to  understand  and  sym- 
pathise with  every  idiosyncrasy,  and  throw  himself  into  every 
student's  point  of  view ;  and  it  is  also  too  much  to  expect  that 
any  system  of  education  can  be  made  elastic  enough  to  adapt 
itself  to  all  the  changeful  phases  of  natural  ability.  The 
professor  is  one  man,  he  is  round  or  he  is  square,  and  when  he 
is  in  sole  authority  all  his  pupils,  the  round  men  and  the  square, 
must  be  made  to  fit  into  the  same  hole.  The  result  is  that  in 
Paris,  for  instance,  all  the  disciples  of  one  professor  have  a 
family  likeness,  and  one  conversant  with  the  matter  can  tell  by 
a  glance  at  their  work  who  it  was  that  educated  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  system  of  education  by  rotation  of 
visitors,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Academy  and  is  still  con- 
tinued, is  more  likely  to  insure  that  each  activity  shall  find  its 
corresponding  receptivity.  Each  student  is  pretty  sure  amongst 


THE  TEACHING  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  53 

the  number  of  visitors  to  find  at  least  one  who  thinks  and 
feels  somewhat  as  he  does,  and  from  whom,  therefore,  he  will 
receive  much  more  valuable  and  fruitful  instruction  than  he  can 
from  a  man  of  a  totally  different  turn  of  mind.  Sympathy  is 
the  only  medium  by  which  ideas  can  be  communicated ;  it  puts 
master  and  pupil  on  the  same  platform,  and  they  see  things 
bearing  the  same  relation  to  each  other.  But  it  cannot  be 
denied,  that  frequent  changes  among  the  teachers,  and  the 
consequent  frequent  presentation  of  different  classes  of  ideas, 
may  have  the  effect  of  puzzling  and  retarding  the  weaker  minds  ; 
and  that  the  absence  of  one  will  authoritatively  insisting  upon 
one  course,  may  cause  students  to  loiter  on  the  road ;  and  also 
that  the  influence  of  the  students  themselves  upon  each  other, 
being  constantly  exercised,  may  become  as  powerful  as  that  of 
the  teachers.  In  the  office  of  Keeper  as  established  in  the 
schools  of  the  Royal  Academy,  we  have  a  tolerable  safeguard 
against  these  disadvantages,  for  although  he  is  not  directly 
responsible  for  the  teaching,  his  authority  does  not  cease,  and  his 
will  is  able  to  assert  itself  and  keep  things  moving. 

Moser  must  have  fulfilled  the  duties  of  the  office  very  ably, 
or  Reynolds  would  not  have  gone  out  of  his  way  to  write  such 
a  very  comprehensive  eulogium  of  him.  He  spoke  of  him  as 
the  first  gold  chaser  in  the  kingdom,  praise  which  we  can  only 
estimate  the  value  of,  when  we  have  ascertained  the  quality  of 
gold  chasing  in  general  at  that  time.  Moser's  first  employment 
had  been  in  chasing  the  brass  ornaments  in  "  buhl "  cabinet 
work.  He  executed  some  enamels  for  the  watch  of  George  III., 
for  which  he  was  rewarded  by  a  hat  full  of  guineas,  and  he  also 
designed  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
an  excellent  medallist. 

He  died  in  1783,  and  was  buried  at  St  Paul's,  Covent  Garden, 
his  funeral  being  attended  by  the  Royal  Academicians  and  by 
the  students,  by  whom,  we  are  told,  he  was  greatly  loved.  He 
left  his  daughter  Mary,  R.A.,  to  write  gushing  letters,  and  to 
commit  ineffectual  flirtation  with  another  Keeper  of  the  Royal 


54  THE  FIRST  EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS 

Academy,   the    talented    Fuseli ;    as   shall   be    related   in   due 
course. 

FRANCIS  HAYMAN,  R.A. 

Hayman  was  born  in  Devonshire  in  1708,  and  studied  under 
Robert  Brown,  portrait  painter.  Fifteen  years  senior  to 
Reynolds,  we  may  say  his  education  was  perfected  and  his 
style  formed  ere  yet  the  light  had  dawned  upon  British  Art ; 
when  it  was  still  in  the  condition  to  which  Barry  applies  the 
word  "  disgraceful,"  Fuseli  that  of  "  contemptible,"  and  Constable 
of  "  degraded."  And  of  Francis  Hayman  himself  we  may  say 
that  he  shines  by  no  light  that  he  emitted ;  he  is  visible  only  by 
the  reflected  glare,  often  of  a  somewhat  sulphurous  character, 
which  was  shed  upon  the  inane  eighteenth  century  by  its 
historians,  its  satirists,  and  by  William  Hogarth,  whose  work, 
whatever  its  artistic  rank  may  be,  is  certainly  more  strictly 
illustrative  of  his  times  and  surroundings  than  that  of  any  artist 
that  ever  lived.  Hayman,  by  his  theory  of  Art,  his  habits  and 
proclivities,  belonged  strictly  to  the  age  of  Hogarth  ;  he  was  one 
of  the  "indifferent  engravers,  coach  painters,  scene  painters, 
drapery  painters,"  who  used  to  meet  of  evenings  to  draw  in  the 
academy  in  St  Martin's  Lane.  He  was  one  of  those  who  "  follow 
the  standard  so  righteously  and  so  laudably  established  by 
picture-dealers,  picture-cleaners,  picture-frame  makers,  and  other 
connoisseurs,"  by  whom  "the  canvas  was  thrust  between  the 
student  and  the  sky — tradition  between  him  and  God." 

In  some  of  the  terrible  scenes  depicted  by  Hogarth's  unspar- 
ing pencil,  the  portrait  of  Hayman  might  have  been  appropriately 
introduced,  and  may  have  been  for  all  we  know.  In  the  nightly 
hurly-burly  of  London  streets,  when  the  Mohawks  were  abroad, 
and  the  miserable  ineffectual  watchman  was  not  safe  in  his  own 
box,  Hayman  and  Quin  can  be  discerned  lying  helpless  but 
hopeful  in  the  kennel,  waiting  to  be  "  taken  up."  The  "  Mid- 
night Modern  Conversation  "  depicted  a  scene  which,  from  all 
accounts,  must  have  been  extremely  familiar  to  the  painter,  who 


FRANCIS  HAYMAN  55 

was,  at  the  same  time,  esteemed  the  best  historical  painter  in 
the  kingdom,  but  who  preferred  Figg  the  prize-fighter's  amphi- 
theatre to  the  Academy.  Hayman  was  no  doubt  a  clever  man, 
but  without  originality,  with  no  consciousness  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  Art,  no  perception  of  the  dignity  of  its  mission,  and  he 
is  chiefly  interesting  as  reflecting  the  artistic  barbarism  of  his 
age.  Great  and  shining  lights  arose  in  his  day,  but  he  compre- 
hended them  not.  He  was  appointed  Librarian  of  the  Royal 
Academy  under  the  presidency  of  Reynolds,  and  Thomas 
Gainsborough  was  his  colleague  as  a  member  of  the  body,  and 
had  been  his  pupil. 

Hayman  practised  portrait  painting,  as  everybody  in  those 
days  did  who  had  to  earn  a  living  by  painting  ;  his  likeness  of 
himself  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery  exhibits  unmistakable 
vigour  and  a  certain  rude  intellect  and  perception  of  character. 
He  decorated  Vauxhall,  painted  scenes  for  theatres  and 
illustrated  books  ;  all  of  which  achievements  have  fallen  into 
the  limbo  of  oblivion,  and  at  best  only  supply  interest  for  the 
curious  and  the  erudite,  who  love  to  trace  the  byways  and  the 
lanes  which  lead  into  the  great  highways  of  human  progress 
and  enlightenment.  An  excellent  specimen  of  his  work  is  to  be 
found  in  a  picture  belonging  to  the  Marylebone  Cricket  Club, 
which  also  possesses  an  engraving  of  the  picture  on  which  is 
written  in  ink,  "The  Royal  Academy  Club  in  Marybone 
Fields." 

Hayman  was  appointed  librarian  by  the  king  in  1770.  We 
are  informed  that  he  then  had  "bodily  infirmities"  and  the 
small  emoluments  served  as  a  consolation.  He  died  in 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   FIRST   PROFESSORS 

"  EXAMPLE  is  better  than  precept."  This  is  an  old  saying,  and 
in  all  probability  it  contains  as  much  solid  kernel  of  truth  as 
any  of  the  proverbial  nuts  which  the  searcher  after  wisdom  is 
called  upon  to  crack,  and  it  may  at  any  rate  be  accurately  and 
legitimately  applied  to  the  matter  of  Art  education. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  the  most  fruitful  and  valuable 
assistance  which  can  be  given  to  the  progress  of  Art,  is  by  pro- 
ducing fine  pictures  and  statues.  The  productive  and  the  criti- 
cal faculties  are  distinctly  different  animals,  and  although  they 
may  be  seen  occasionally  to  run  evenly  in  the  same  team,  they 
are  certainly  not  housed  in  the  same  stable.  Their  union  in 
practice  may  be  compared  to  those  abnormal  teams  which  sur- 
prise the  traveller  in  the  East,  where  a  camel  is  seen  ploughing 
with  a  bullock :  it  is  a  makeshift  which  .enables  the  fellaheen  to 
overcome  the  stubbornness  of  the  soil,  though  it  is  fatal  to  the 
regularity  of  the  furrow.  Or  to  set  metaphors  aside,  which  like 
bills  of  exchange  are  very  pleasant  when  drawn,  but  troublesome 
when  they  come  to  maturity,  the  productive  faculty  works  un- 
consciously, and  the  critical  consciously.  The  great  productive 
genius  cannot  tell  you  why  he  did  a  thing  ;  he  did  it  because  it 
came  to  him  to  do  it  that  way.  He  did  not  think  about  it,  and 
moreover  the  moment  he  did  stop  to  think,  he  hesitated ;  he 
saw  two  or  three  possible  roads  instead  of  one  inevitable  one, 
and  the  odds  are  that  he  put  down  his  brush  for  that  day,  and 

56 


THE  FUNCTION  OF  TEACHERS  OF  ART    57 

gave  the  matter  up  as  hopelessly  abstruse  and  complicated. 
This  is  marvellous,  and  to  all  but  the  few  gifted  sons  of  men  who 
possess  the  divine  faculty,  it  appears  incredible.  The  creative 
faculty  is  first  in  order  of  generation,  the  critical  is  born  of  it, 
and  without  the  one  the  other  could  not  exist.  Hence  it  is  that 
the  function  of  all  teachers  of  Art  of  all  academies  resolves  itself 
into  reasoning  about  what  others  did  intuitively  and  uncon- 
sciously. But,  and  here  the  matter  becomes  much  more  compli- 
cated, there  is  a  presiding  faculty  which  we  call  taste,  which  is 
evidently  not  intuitive,  which  has  been  built  up  gradually  by  the 
labours  of  the  critic,  and  by  which  the  artist  and  creator  himself 
is  guided.  There  is  a  vast  storehouse  of  ideas  expressed  by  Art, 
out  of  which  the  artist  selects  by  assimilation,  and  his  selection 
when  completed  constitutes  his  style.  To  guide  him  in  his 
selection  is  what  academies  profess  to  do. 

Experience  has  proved  that  the  best  teacher  is  not  always  the 
best  artist,  and  moreover  that  the  best  artists  are  often  deficient 
in  the  critical  faculty.  It  probably  could  never  have  been  said 
of  any  man  that  he  painted  like  an  angel  and  judged  like  an 
ass.  It  is  an  absurdity  to  generalise  and  say  that  artists  know 
less  about  pictures  than  many  people  do  who  have  not  studied 
the  art  practically ;  but  it  is  true,  that  very  great  artists  who  see 
with  the  eyes  of  enthusiasm  and  imagination,  sometimes  do  not 
give  themselves  the  trouble  of  going  through  the  processes  of 
comparison  and  reflection  which  are  necessary  to  form  sound 
judgment  of  the  works  of  others  :  and  it  is  also  tolerably  certain, 
that  the  great  artist  who  does  a  thing,  he  does  not  know  why,  in 
obedience  to  some  imperious  impulse  in  his  nature,  is  less  able 
to  instruct  and  help  others,  than  he  who  is  in  the  habit  of 
accounting  to  himself  for  every  step  he  takes.  Rubens 
acquired  only  the  defects  of  his  style,  his  florid  exaggeration, 
from  a  vigorous  and  original  painter,  Adam  Van  Noort ; 
the  judicious  equipoise,  the  magnificent  completeness  of  his 
art,  he  owed  to  the  teachings  of  a  timid  pedant,  Otto 
Vaenius. 


58  THE  FIRST  PROFESSORS 

Great,  very  great,  and  much  to  be  admired  is  that  mysteri- 
ous power  given  to  a  few  men,  to  as  few  probably  as  is  the  more 
resplendent  gift  of  genius — the  power  to  impart  knowledge,  to 
arouse  curiosity,  and  to  quicken  enthusiasm  ;  to  whom  it  is 
vouchsafed  to  utter  the  winged  word  which  falls  on  the  struggling 
brain  like  an  inspiration,  or  like  a  shaft  of  light  which  pierces 
the  dark  chambers  of  thought,  and  reveals  their  disorder  and 
their  emptiness.  Such  men  are  as  necessary  to  a  great  educa- 
tional establishment  like  the  Royal  Academy  as  are  artists  of 
genius  who  give  a  lustre  to  its  exhibitions,  and  who  stimulate 
students  by  their  example.  That  it  has  not  always  been  equally 
fortunate  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other,  is  but  natural ;  it  has 
uniformly  and  consistently  followed  the  course  ordained  by  its 
constitution  and  prescribed  by  reason.  Each  succeeding  presi- 
dent has  delivered  his  discourses  ;  in  the  chairs  of  painting, 
architecture,  perspective,  and  anatomy,  professor  has  succeeded 
professor.  And  though  the  echoes  of  their  voices  have  died 
away,  and  their  literary  efforts  have  found  a  common  grave  in 
the  oblivion  of  the  waste-paper  basket ;  though  the  "  Dis- 
courses" of  Reynolds  is  still  pronounced  to  be  the  most  "stimu- 
lating "  of  Art  books  ;  we  may  venture  to  hope  that  many  have 
not  been  without  success,  that  the  words  of  honest  advice 
clothed  with  the  authority  of  experience  and  the  utterance  of 
profound  conviction  have  not  been  thrown  away,  and  that  with 
its  practical  teaching  the  Royal  Academy  has  for  upwards  of  a 
century  and  a  quarter  disseminated  lofty  views  and  genuine 
maxims  which  have  equally  powerfully  contributed  to  its  funda- 
mental object,  the  furtherance  of  British  Art. 

It  was  at  its  second  meeting,  on  I7th  December  1768,  at 
which  thirty  members  were  present,  that  the  Academy  pro- 
ceeded to  the  election  by  ballot  of  four  professors  as  provided 
for  by  the  Instrument,  viz.,  those  of  Painting,  Architecture, 
Perspective  and  Geometry,  and  Anatomy,  the  first  three  to  be 
chosen  from  among  the  Academicians.  The  choice  fell  on 
Edward  Penny,  R.A.,  for  painting ;  Thomas  Sandby,  R.A.,  for 


THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  PROFESSORS  59 

architecture;  Samuel  Wale,  R.A.,  for  perspective;  and  Dr 
William  Hunter  for  anatomy.  The  chairs  of  Painting,  Archi- 
tecture, and  Anatomy  still  remain,  and  to  them  have  been 
added  that  of  Sculpture  in  1810,  and  that  of  Chemistry  in  1871. 
In  1860  the  professorship  of  perspective  was  turned  into  a 
teachership ;  while  in  1886  Associates  were  admitted  to  be 
candidates  for  the  three  chairs,  the  occupancy  of  which  had 
been  hitherto  restricted  to  Academicians. 

The  duties  of  the  originally  appointed  professors  were  laid 
down  in  the  Instrument.  They  were  each  to  give  six  lectures 
annually.  Those  in  painting  were  to  be  "  calculated  to  instruct 
the  students  in  the  principles  of  composition,  to  form  their  taste 
of  design  and  colouring,  to  strengthen  their  judgment,  to  point 
out  to  them  the  beauties  and  imperfections  of  celebrated  works 
of  Art,  and  the  particular  excellencies  or  defects  of  great  masters  ; 
and,  finally,  to  lead  them  into  the  readiest  and  most  efficacious 
paths  of  study."  Those  in  architecture  were  to  be  "  calculated 
to  form  the  taste  of  the  students,  to  instruct  them  in  the  laws 
and  principles  of  composition,  to  point  out  to  them  the  beauties 
or  faults  of  celebrated  productions,  to  fit  them  for  an  unpre- 
judiced study  of  books,  and  for  a  critical  examination  of  struc- 
tures." The  Professor  of  Perspective  is  enjoined  to  "  clearly  and 
fully  illustrate  all  the  useful  propositions  of  Geometry,  together 
with  the  principle  of  Lineal  and  Aerial  Perspective,  and  also 
the  projection  of  shadows,  reflections,  and  refractions,"  and  to 
"  particularly  confine  himself  to  the  quickest,  easiest,  and  most 
exact  methods  of  operation,"  while  the  anatomy  lectures  are 
to  be  "  adapted  to  the  Arts  of  Design."  All  the  lectures,  more- 
over, are  to  be  "  laid  before  the  Council  for  its  approbation,  which 
shall  be  obtained  in  writing,  before  they  can  be  read  in  the 
public  schools."  But  this  somewhat  arbitrary  and  oppressive 
regulation  does  not  seem  to  have  remained  long  in  force,  and 
the  only  restrictions  subsequently  placed  on  the  discretion  of 
the  professors  was  that  no  "comments  or  criticisms  on  the 
opinions  or  productions  of  living  artists  in  this  country  shall  be 


60  THE  FIRST  PROFESSORS 

introduced   into   any   of  the   lectures   delivered   in   the  Royal 
Academy." 

A  separate  diploma  was  given  to  the  professors,  or  at  any 
rate  to  those  who  were  not  members  of  the  Academy.  The 
original  draft,  signed  I5th  December  1769,  of  the  one  bestowed 
on  Dr  Hunter  exists.  It  is  addressed  to  "  our  trusty  and  well- 
beloved  William  Hunter,  Doctor  of  Physick,"  and  after  the 
preamble  as  in  the  other  form  of  diploma  goes  on,  "  and  seeing 
that  no  liberal  art  can  attain  perfection  without  the  concurrence 
and  co-operation  of  other  sciences,  we  have  resolved  to  appoint 
certain  professors  to  instruct  the  students  in  various  branches  of 
knowledge  necessary  to  the  arts.  We,  therefore,  in  considera- 
tion of  your  great  skill  in  anatomy,  do  by  these  presents 
nominate  and  appoint  you  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  our  said 
Academy  of  Arts,  hereby  granting  unto  you  all  such  honours, 
privileges,  and  emoluments  thereof  as  are  consistent  with  the 
nature  of  the  establishment,  and  compatible  with  the  Instrument 
of  Institution,  and  with  the  laws  and  regulations  by  which  the 
said  Society  is  governed."  A  similar  diploma  was  also  received 
by  Dr  Hunter's  successor,  as  the  President  reports  to  the 
General  Assembly  on  3rd  November  1783,  that  "His  Majesty 
had  been  graciously  pleased  to  approve  the  election  of  John 
Sheldon,  Esq.,  as  Professor  of  Anatomy,  and  to  sign  his  diploma, 
dated  i8th  July  1783."  That  the  outside  professor,  as  we  may 
call  him,  might  be  brought  into  touch  with  the  general  business 
of  the  Academy,  it  was  resolved  by  the  Council  on  27th  Decem- 
ber 1768,  "that  Dr  William  Hunter  (as  Anatomy  Professor) 
have  free  access  to  all  General  Assemblys."  Whether  he  ever 
availed  himself  of  this  privilege  does  not  appear,  nor  do  we 
know  if  it  was  continued  to  his  successor,  but  it  is  not  in  exist- 
ence now ;  nor  are  diplomas  given  to  the  non-member  pro- 
fessors. 

Two  other  entries  in  the  early  minutes  of  the  Council  with 
reference  to  the  anatomy  lectures  sound  curious  at  the  present 
day.  On  I7th  March  1769,  it  was  ordered  "  That  the  other 


EDWARD  PENNY  61 

lectures  on  the  muscles  be  at  such  times  as  a  body  can  be 
procured  from  the  sheriffs,  to  whom  he  (Dr  Hunter)  recom- 
mended that  application  should  be  made."  And  on  I5th 
January  1770,  there  is  the  entry,  "the  President  was  desired 
to  make  an  application  to  the  master  of  the  Surgeons'  Com- 
pany for  a  body  to  be  dissected  in  the  Royal  Academy  by  Dr 
Hunter." 

We  will  now  give  some  account  of  the  lives  of  the  men  who 
were  first  chosen  to  fill  these  very  important  posts  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  new  society. 

EDWARD  PENNY,  R.A., 

the  first  professor  who  occupied  the  Royal  Academy  chair  of 
Painting,  had,  in  the  troublous  times  which  the  artists  of 
England  underwent  before  they  found  a  haven  of  rest  in  royal 
patronage,  occupied  the  post  of  Vice-President  of  the  Incor- 
porated Society  of  Artists,  and  his  signature  appears  amongst 
those  of  the  seceders  from  that  body.  He  was  born  at  Knuts- 
ford,  in  Cheshire,  in  1714,  and  was  a  pupil  of  Hudson,  some  years 
probably  before  young  Joshua  Reynolds  made  his  timid  entry 
into  a  studio  which  is  now  associated  with  his  own  imperishable 
fame.  He  afterwards  studied  in  Rome  under  Benefiali ;  which 
may  be  called  a  dumb  fact,  as  neither  Penny  nor  Benefiali  are 
credited  with  possessing  a  voice  which  is  audible  at  this  distance 
of  time.  Penny  is  said  to  have  been  much  admired  for  his 
portraits  on  a  small  scale,  and  some  of  his  historical  and  senti- 
mental works  were  engraved.  Amongst  these  was  a  "  Death 
of  General  Wolfe,"  a  popular  subject  in  those  days.  Romney, 
Mortimer,  and  Barry  tried  their  hands  at  it,  and  others  might 
have  continued  had  not  Benjamin  West  given  the  finishing 
stroke  to  the  hero  of  Quebec,  and  killed  him  so  effectually  that 
none  has  since  dared  to  lift  his  brush  against  him.  In  two 
pictures  Penny  represented  "Virtue  Rewarded  and  Profligacy 
Punished " ;  also  a  "  Marquis  of  Granby  relieving  a  sick 


62  THE  FIRST  PROFESSORS 

Soldier,"  which  does  not  seem  to  have  perpetuated  the  memory 
of  his  lordship's  benevolence  and  condescension. 

His  influence  among  his  fellow-artists  would  appear  to  have 
been  considerable,  as  at  the  General  Assembly  of  the  3rd  January 
1769,  the  third  held,  it  was  resolved  "That  the  thanks  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Academicians  be  given  to  Mr  Penny 
for  his  activity  in  bringing  several  worthy  members  into  the 
society." 

Of  his  lectures  as  Professor  of  Painting,  which  he  continued 
to  deliver  annually  till  1783,  when  his  health  failed,  and  he 
resigned  the  office,  there  is  no  record. 

He  appears  to  have  succumbed  to  the  infirmity  of  so  many 
of  the  noble  minds  of  that  period,  and  married  a  lady  of  pro- 
perty, which  enabled  him  to  end  his  days  in  luxurious  retire- 
ment at  Chiswick,  where  he  died  in  1791. 


THOMAS  SANDBY,  R.A. 

The  life  of  the  first  Professor  of  Architecture  offers  the 
promise  of  picturesque  materials  and  an  opportunity  for  that 
sort  of  literary  historical  genre  painting  of  which  Carlyle's 
"  Diamond  Necklace "  is  so  masterly  an  example.  It  passed 
through  a  great  crisis  in  our  history,  greater  perhaps  than  we 
are  now  aware  of,  and  in  the  calm  environments  of  its  close  it 
suggests  the  blessed  relief  from  discord  which  this  country 
attained  to,  more  perhaps  by  luck  than  good  guidance,  in  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Thomas  Sandby  is  by 
no  means  such  an  obscure  personage  as  Henry  Pitman,  who  is 
memorable  as  having  left  authentic  records  of  his  personal 
contact  with  great  events,  with  the  rebellion  of  Mon  mouth 
and  the  "  Bloody  Assizes."  Sandby  came  in  personal  contact 
with  the  invasion  of  the  Pretender  in  1745,  and  had  he 
written  his  autobiography  giving  all  the  details  of  his  life, 
from  the  stormy  scenes  which  surrounded  his  youth  to  the 


THOMAS  SANDBY  63 

final  peaceful  seclusion  as  Deputy  Ranger  of  Windsor  Park, 
he  would  have  left  a  book  of  more  permanent  interest  to 
mankind  than  his  lectures  on  architecture,  which  were  found 
too  costly  for  the  Academy  to  publish,  are  at  all  likely  to 
have  been. 

He  was  born  in  Nottingham  in  1721,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  attracted  to  the  profession  of  architecture  by  the  fascina- 
tions of  the  science  of  perspective  ;  fascinations  which  about  the 
same  time  were  impelling  the  son  of  a  Devonshire  schoolmaster 
towards  the  profession  of  painting.  In  1743  he  was  in  London 
and  was  appointed  draughtsman  to  the  chief  engineer  in  Scot- 
land. This  brought  him  to  Fort  William,  at  the  foot  of  Ben 
Nevis,  in  1745.  It  would  be  worth  many  lectures  on  architecture 
to  know  what  he  saw  there ;  to  have  brought  before  us  the 
tumultuous  gatherings  of  tartaned  ruffians,  to  hear  the  wild 
pibrochs,  and  the  clashing  and  clattering  of  claymores,  targets, 
and  Lochaber  axes.  All  we  positively  know  is,  that  he  was  the 
first  person  to  convey  to  the  government  authentic  tidings  of  the 
landing  of  the  Pretender  in  Glenfinnan.  In  return  for  this 
important  political  service  he  was  taken  good  care  of  ever 
afterwards.  H.R.H.  William,  Duke  of  Cumberland,  appointed 
him  his  peculiar  draughtsman  ;  though  what  the  duties  of  a 
peculiar  architectural  draughtsman  to  a  successful  military 
commander  of  royal  blood  may  be,  we  are  not  able  to  conjec- 
ture. And  in  the  following  year,  when  all  the  disturbances 
were  over,  when  Lord  Balmerino  had  wiped  his  spectacles  for 
the  last  time  and  laid  his  poor  foolish  old  head  on  the  block 
on  Tower  Hill,  as  the  last  of  the  long  series  of  decapitated 
traitors,  Sandby  was  appointed  Deputy  Ranger  of  Windsor 
Great  Park,  where  he  created  that  placid  expanse  of  tranquil 
water,  belilied,  if  such  a  term  is  admissible,  with  white  blossoms, 
whose  banks  are  littered  with  shreds  of  morning  newspapers, 
exuvice  of  picnics,  known  as  Virginia  Water.  Freemasons'  Hall, 
where  whilom  Art  and  Benevolence  united  were  accustomed  to 
exchange  their  festive  greetings,  was  designed  by  him,  as  was 


64  THE  FIRST  PROFESSORS 

the  elaborate  wainscotting  around  the  altar  of  St  George's 
Chapel,  Windsor. 

The  various  abortive  efforts  which  were  made  by  the  artists 
of  England  to  form  a  properly  organised  institution  for  the 
encouragement  of  Art  have  been  already  described.  Thomas 
Sandby  had  taken  a  part  in  the  agitation,  he  joined  the  Incor- 
porated Society,  and  after  the  schism  by  which  it  was  rent 
asunder  he  passed  into  the  newly-formed  Royal  Academy  as 
one  of  its  foundation  members. 

He  exhibited  great  zeal  in  carrying  out  his  duties  as  Pro- 
fessor of  Architecture.  His  lectures  were  largely  illustrated  by 
beautifully  executed  drawings,  many  of  which  are  still  preserved. 
As  we  have  already  mentioned,  they  have  never  been  published. 
The  MS.  was  offered  for  that  purpose  to  the  Council  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  but  declined  on  account  of  the  great  cost  of 
reproducing  the  illustrations.  It  has  since  been  presented  by 
his  descendant,  Mr  William  Sandby,  and  is  now  preserved  in 
the  library. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life  Sandby  became  incapacitated 
by  ill-health  from  the  labour  of  delivering  his  lectures,  and  for 
two  years  they  were  read  by  Edward  Edwards,  A.  The  even- 
ing of  his  life  was  passed  in  the  peaceful  retirement  of  the 
Deputy  Ranger's  Lodge  in  Windsor  Park,  and  there  he  died, 
aged  seventy-seven,  in  1798,  fifty-three  years  after  the  fortui- 
tous circumstance  to  which  he  owed  his  fortune  and  his  social 
position. 

SAMUEL  WALE,  R.A. 

At  the  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Academy,  its 
promoters  found  themselves  somewhat  in  the  position  of  the 
lord  in  the  parable  who  had  to  search  for  wedding  guests 
amongst  the  hedgerows  and  byways.  There  was  no  neglected 
talent  pining  for  lack  of  recognition,  no  claims  likely  to  be 
overlooked ;  the  difficulty  was  to  fill  up  the  ranks  with  repre- 
sentative artists  when  none  such  could  be  found  ;  men  who 


SAMUEL  WALE  65 

practised  any  description  of  industry  which  could  plausibly  be 
included  in  the  category  of  Art  were  considered  eligible.  Such 
a  one  was  Samuel  Wale,  first  Professor  of  Perspective.  He 
decorated  ceilings,  illustrated  books,  painted  signs,  and  in  a 
promiscuous  way  turned  his  hand  to  anything  which  required 
a  certain  skill  in  drawing  and  a  knowledge  of  the  mechanism  of 
painting. 

Those  who  pay  attention  to  such  things,  must  be  familiar 
with  a  peculiar  phase  of  water-colour  art  which  is  often  found 
decorating  the  staircases  and  bedrooms  in  English  country 
houses.  Who  does  not  know  the  dingy  landscapes  which  the 
host  points  to  apologetically  as  an  old-fashioned  picture  which 
has  been  in  the  family  for  years  and  years  ?  It  probably 
represents  an  old  ruined  castle,  drawn  in  outline  with  a  reed 
pen ;  there  is  pretty  sure  to  be  a  bridge  spanning  a  river,  and 
some  men  engaged  in  drawing  a  net  in  the  foreground  ;  on 
each  side  is  a  tree  trunk  with  rugged  boughs,  drawn  more  or 
less  in  a  series  of  hooks  with  thick  strokes  of  the  pen,  the  whole 
washed  over  with  a  thin  film  of  colour. 

Such  was  the  water-colour  art  of  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  rude  germ  which  developed  into  the  magnificent 
works  of  Girtin,  Turner,  De  Wint,  and  Copley  Fielding.  Samuel 
Wale  practised  that  form  of  art  largely,  and  exhibited  his  works 
at  the  Royal  Academy.  As  an  assistant  to  John  Gwynn,  the 
architect,  he  acquired  a  good  knowledge  of  perspective,  and  was 
appointed  to  profess  it  on  the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Academy. 
At  first  it  appears  to  have  been  the  practice  to  deliver  lectures 
on  the  subject  ex  cathedrd,  a  practice  which  Wale  was  obliged 
to  discontinue  on  account  of  ill-health,  and  to  resort  to  the 
much  more  practical  system  of  giving  a  series  of  lessons  at  a 
table,  which  has  since  been  universally  adopted.  Perspective  is 
nothing  if  not  precise,  and  its  principles,  to  be  understood,  must 
be  put  into  practice  with  the  scale  and  parallel  ruler. 

Wale,  who  was  born  at  Yarmouth,  was  much  employed 
in  designing  illustrations  to  books ;  his  best-known  works 

E 


66  THE  FIRST  PROFESSORS 

in  this  line  are  the  engravings  in  the  8vo  edition  of  Walton's 
Complete  Angler,  published  in  London,  1760,  which  are 
probably  very  familiar  to  all  readers  of  the  worthy  old 
piscator's  book.  "The  Morning  Greeting,"  "The  Milkmaid's 
Song,"  and  "  The  Three  Anglers  at  the  Inn  Door " 
giving  the  hostess  the  chub  to  cook,  are  things  which  we 
remember  to  have  seen  in  our  youth,  and  never  have  forgotten. 
In  addition  to  these  Wale  illustrated  an  abridgment  of  Sacred 
History,  1766;  Fables,  by  William  Wilkie,  D.D.,  1768;  and 
Raymond's  History  of  England ;  besides  a  number  of  other 
works.  His  historical  plates  are  very  curious  in  our  eyes  ;  they 
show  the  utter  carelessness  and  ignorance  of  appropriate  costume 
and  accessories  which  prevailed  in  the  eighteenth  century,  when 
Garrick  as  Macbeth,  in  a  bag  wig  with  a  small  sword,  made  his 
audience  tremble  at  the  spectacle  of  "  the  ruin  of  a  crime- 
entangled  soul."  There  are  two  plates  after  Wale  in  Raymond's 
History ;  one  represents  Canute  reproving  his  courtiers,  in  the 
background  of  which  there  is  a  church  with  a  spire  of  fifteenth- 
century  architecture ;  and  another  of  Richard  I.  taken  in  dis- 
guise by  Leopold  Duke  of  Austria,  where  the  Crusader  is  in 
knee-breeches,  with  a  small  sword  at  his  side. 

In  1782,  on  the  death  of  Richard  Wilson,  Wale  was  appointed 
Librarian,  and  held  that  office,  in  conjunction  with  the  professor- 
ship, till  his  death  in  1786. 

DR  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

though  his  fame  is  cast  into  the  shade  by  the  singularly  brilliant 
genius  of  his  younger  brother,  John,  must  have  been  a  very 
distinguished  physiologist  and  physician,  to  judge  only  by  the 
honorary  degrees  which  were  conferred  upon  him  both  in  this 
country  and  abroad.  And,  from  the  testimony  of  his  contem- 
poraries, we  may  surmise  that  the  Royal  Academy  was  both 
fortunate  and  discerning  in  having  the  opportunity  of  securing 
him  as  Professor  of  Anatomy,  a  post  which,  as  we  have  seen,  in 


DR  WILLIAM  HUNTER  67 

its  early  days  conferred  the  right  of  attending  at  General 
Assemblies,  and  made  the  holder  in  a  manner  an  ex-officio 
member  of  the  body. 

William  Hunter  was  born  at  East  Kilbride,  in  Lanark,  in 
1718;  he  studied  for  five  years  in  the  University  in  Glasgow, 
afterwards  in  Edinburgh,  and  finally  at  St  George's  Hospital  in 
London.  He  early  distinguished  himself  for  his  knowledge  of 
anatomy;  and  when  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  by  a  mere 
chance  he  was  called  upon  to  take  the  place  of  Mr  Samuel  Sharpe, 
and  to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures  on  operative  surgery  and 
anatomy,  he  brought  to  light,  in  addition  to  great  knowledge,  a 
peculiar  aptitude  for  exposition,  and  great  oratorical  ability.  It 
is  said  that  his  lectures  differed  from  those  of  his  contemporaries 
in  the  fulness  and  thoroughness  of  his  teaching,  and  in  the  care 
he  took  to  provide  for  his  hearers  the  best  possible  practical 
illustrations  of  his  discourse.  His  lectures  were  simple  and  yet 
profound,  minute  in  demonstration,  and  by  no  means  tedious, 
and  he  had  a  happy  knack  of  enlivening  them  by  anecdotical 
illustrations.  He  thoroughly  enjoyed  lecturing,  and  used  to  say 
that  "a  man  may  do  infinitely  more  good  to  the  public  by 
teaching  his  art  than  by  practising  it,"  an  unselfish  sentiment 
which  does  honour  to  his  heart,  but  which  cannot  logically  be 
said  to  run  on  "all  fours." 

Hunter  also  contributed  many  papers  to  medical  journals. 
These  were  accused  of  being  too  controversial  in  tone,  and  he 
excused  himself  by  saying  that  anatomists  naturally  got  into 
that  way,  having  been  so  "  spoiled  by  the  passive  submission  of 
dead  bodies"  that  they  are  unable  to  brook  any  resistance. 
Like  his  brother,  he  was  a  collector :  his  house  was  a  museum, 
filled  with  splendid  anatomical  and  pathological  preparations, 
ancient  coins,  medals,  minerals,  shells,  and  corals,  together  with 
a  fine  library  of  Greek  and  Latin  classics.  After  his  death,  in 
1783,  these  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  University  of 
Glasgow. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH,  R.A. 

FOR  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter  exhibition  has  suc- 
ceeded exhibition  at  the  Royal  Academy ;  each  returning 
spring  during  the  whole  of  that  long  period  has  brought  with 
it  its  special  cares  and  anxieties  to  the  artists  of  the  country, 
its  high  hopes  sometimes  destined  to  be  realised,  its  vaulting 
ambitions  which  missed  the  saddle  and  ended  in  the  dust  and 
ignominy  of  the  other  side.  What  a  strange  record  it  is  of  mad 
strivings  after  the  unattainable,  of  futile  efforts  on  the  part  of 
weak,  inarticulate,  human  nature  to  express  the  unutterable, 
of  hopeless  struggles  to  vivify  the  material  atoms  of  stone  and 
pigment  and  to  make  them  live  with  the  life  of  the  spirit  of 
man  ;  a  record  of  high  aims  gone  astray,  of  sordid  cares,  of 
unavailing  groans  and  blank  despair;  and  perhaps  more 
pitiable  still,  of  inane  vanity  satisfied  with  half  achievement, 
and  revelling  in  its  fool's  supper  of  worthless  praise.  During 
those  years,  how  many  have  been  the  reputations  made !  in 
charity  let  us  not  count  those  that  have  been  lost.  False, 
partial  Fame  has  stood  blaring  on  her  trumpet  in  the  market- 
place, proclaiming,  now  this,  now  that  as  the  greatest  name 
in  Art,  and  she  is  at  it  still ;  and  yet  how  stands  the  account  ? 
Taking  reputations  at  their  current  worth,  at  their  market 
price  both  in  amount  of  recognition  and  coin,  and  turning  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  din  of  our  mountebank's  trumpet,  it  stands 
simply  thus :  the  two  greatest  names  are  those  of  men  whose 

68 


v>/Y>-//"//..  A  .,    7  ./////////. '<"//. 


GAINSBOROUGH'S  BIRTH  60 

Art  was  formed  and  whose  glory  was  built  up  in  tns  eighteenth 
century,  namely,  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough. 

Their  names  are  printed  in  large  letters  on  the  title-page 
of  British  Art  History,  as  those  of  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo 
are  on  that  of  the  Italian  Renaissance;  and  like  these  last 
they  are  indissolubly  linked  together  by  a  conventional 
hyphen.  In  ordinary  parlance  the  name  of  one  is  hardly  ever 
mentioned  without  the  other.  They  live  in  public  estimation  as 
the  great  Dioscuri,  the  unconquered  heroes  who  have  been 
translated  to  Olympus,  but  whose  influence  still  guides  the 
destinies  of  British  Art.  They  mark  the  extreme  limits  of 
two  opposite  poles  of  thought  and  feeling,  between  which  for 
more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter  that  Art  has  oscillated 
unceasingly. 

Their  resemblance  is  wholly  superficial,  the  result  of  the 
costume  and  the  manners  of  the  age  in  which  they  both 
lived.  The  difference  between  them  is  vital  and  radical.  One 
vital  point  of  resemblance  they  certainly  had,  each  of  them  was 
"a  reality,  not  an  artificiality,  not  a  sham."  They  were  both 
in  earnest,  they  knew  what  they  wanted  and  sought  for  it, 
one  by  the  way  of  formulas,  the  other  outside  them.  But  in 
their  lives,  their  occupations,  and  their  friends  and  associates, 
they  differed  with  a  difference  not  of  degree  but  of  kind. 

The  life  and  doings  of  Reynolds,  his  Art,  his  utterances, 
and  the  turn  of  his  mind,  belong  properly  to  the  domain  of 
philosophy ;  his  biography  has  been  adequately  written,  and 
may  be  rewritten,  amplified,  and  made  still  more  instructive 
by  any  man  of  judgment  and  sound  sense.  The  events  of 
Gainsborough's  life,  his  Art,  all  that  he  ever  did  or  said, 
belong  in  a  certain  sense  to  the  domain  of  romance ;  to 
do  justice  to  the  theme  would  require  a  poet. 

Thomas  Gainsborough  was  born  in  Sepulchre  Street,  Sud- 
bury,  in  Suffolk,  in  1727.  His  father,  John  Gainsborough,  was 
a  wool  merchant,  prosperous  once,  but  not  unto  the  end ;  of 
whose  five  sons  three  were  men  of  genius.  John,  called 


'•76  *  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH 


g-  J-ac?kM  in  Sudbury,  made  many  mechanical  inven- 
tions but  carried  none  of  them  out  ;  the  Rev.  Humphrey, 
who  had  a  cure  of  souls  at  Henley-on-Thames,  invented  a 
steam  engine  which  according  to  Fulcher  was  nefariously 
robbed  from  him  by  Watt  ;  and  Thomas,  who  did  carry 
things  out,  and  of  whose  inimitable  inventions  none  has  yet 
learnt  the  secret  or  been  able  to  steal  the  charm.  What 
we  read  of  him  as  a  boy  answers  all  the  well-recognised 
requirements  of  boys  of  genius  ;  he  was  quick,  observant, 
very  ardent,  impressionable,  and  very  fond  of  sketching  and 
music  ;  he  spoke  and  acted  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
because  things  came  to  him  that  way,  without  suspecting  that 
biographers  had  their  eyes  upon  him  ;  at  school  he  was  very 
idle  at  his  lessons,  sketched  a  great  deal  in  his  copy-books, 
played  truant  to  go  and  amuse  himself  his  own  way,  and 
did  things  which  are  characteristic  of  boys  of  genius,  and 
quite  equally  so  of  boys  of  a  very  different  kind.  There  is 
in  fact  nothing  in  the  meagre,  and,  as  we  suspect  in  some 
cases,  apocryphal,  anecdotes  of  his  early  years  related  by 
Fulcher  which  is  at  all  instructive  or  worth  repeating. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  Gainsborough  seems  to  have  done  with 
education,  we  may  almost  say  with  books,  and  went  to  London 
to  study  Art,  at  first  under  the  French  engraver  Gravelot, 
afterwards  under  Hayman,  who  became  member  and  librarian 
of  the  Royal  Academy.  This  man  was  a  poor  painter,  but 
at  all  events  in  his  Art  he  tried  to  imitate  good  examples, 
whereas  in  his  conduct  he  did  quite  the  reverse,  and  it  may 
have  been  from  him  that  young  Gainsborough  imbibed  a 
certain  moral  taint  which  he  never  quite  shook  off,  and  which 
affected  his  speech  to  the  later  periods  of  his  life.  After 
three  years  under  Hayman  and  one  of  independent  practice 
at  a  lodging  in  Hatton  Garden  he  returned  to  Sudbury.  He 
had  by  that  time  done  with  Art-education,  and  henceforth 
knew  no  master  but  Nature,  and  acknowledged  no  other 
authority  than  his  own  impressions  of  her.  In  the  course  of 


HIS  EARLY  YEARS  71 

his  artistic  life  he  came  under  the  influence  of  Dutch  painters, 
of  Rubens  and  Van  Dyck,  and  his  practice  was  modified  by 
that  influence,  but  he  never  ceased  to  refer  to  Nature  as  his 
true  guide  and  to  get  his  inspiration  from  that  source. 

In  1746 — the  year  when  Reynolds,  who  was  his  senior  by 
four  years,  was  entering  upon  the  most  unprofitable  and  barren 
period  of  his  career,  namely,  his  residence  at  Plymouth  Dock — 
Thomas  Gainsborough,  a  youth  of  nineteen,  was  beginning 
the  education  which  made  him  a  great  man,  and  which  has 
given  the  stamp  of  truth  and  originality  to  his  art.  Amongst 
the  hedgerows  of  Suffolk,  and  on  the  banks  of  its  sluggish 
streams,  he  was  watching  Nature  intently  and  learning  to 
understand  her  and  to  love  her.  Reynolds  was  saved  by  a 
deus  ex  machind,  in  the  shape  of  Commodore  Keppel,  who 
carried  him  off  in  the  Centurion  to  Italy  and  the  Old  Masters. 
Commodores  and  Centurions,  Italy  and  Old  Masters,  could  have 
done  nothing  for  Gainsborough  but  to  spoil  him,  and  make 
him  other  than  what  he  was ;  which  none  but  pedants,  men  who 
regret,  for  instance,  that  Robert  Burns  did  not  have  a  University 
education,  could  wish  for. 

Gainsborough  at  this  period  is  said  to  have  been  a  hand- 
some youth,  but  the  portrait  by  himself  which  is  in  the  possession 
of  the  Royal  Academy,  does  not  exhibit  a  face  to  which  we 
should  be  inclined  to  apply  that  epithet,  or,  we  should  say, 
to  which  the  sex  which  particularly  claims  authority  in  such 
matters  would  be  inclined  to  apply  it ;  and  yet  if  we  examine 
it  attentively  and  imagine  what  it  was  without  the  signs  of 
age,  and  disfiguring  traces  of  toilsome,  anxious  years,  if  we 
try  to  set  those  features  in  a  bright  and  youthful  face,  and  add 
the  lustre  of  health  and  colour,  we  must  surmise  that  Thomas 
Gainsborough  was  a  lad  who  would  not  pass  unnoticed,  even  in 
a  crowd — one  whom  we  should  turn  back  to  take  a  second  look 
at.  Romance,  as  we  have  said,  was  the  atmosphere  which  sur- 
rounded his  life,  his  character,  and  his  art ;  the  first  important 
incident  recorded  teems  with  it.  A  tall,  handsome  youth,  he 


72  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH 

is  wandering  in  the  fields,  sketching  or  sitting  musing  under  the 
shade  of  trees,  when,  lo !  there  comes  to  him  a  beautiful  maiden, 
more  beautiful  it  was  said  than  even  Mrs  Kedington,  the  reign- 
ing belle  of  Ipswich.  Her  name  was  Margaret  Burr.  Margaret 
thinks  herself  a  princess  in  disguise  ;  her  father  is  a  prince  in 
some  foreign  land,  or  perhaps  even  in  England  ;  but  that  is  a 
mystery.  What  is  a  palpable  fact  is  that  he  sends  her  annually 
two  hundred  pounds,  and  this  young  Thomas,  with  his  large 
eyes  and  handsome  face,  he  is  surely  a  young  prince  in  disguise 
of  nature's  nobility,  a  genius  like  none  other.  They  loved  each 
other,  and  they  wed.  Life  at  nineteen  and  eighteen  is  like  a 
fairy  tale,  but  the  fairy  tale  of  Margaret  and  Thomas  was  a  real 
one.  She  was  a  loyal  and  true  princess,  and  her  two  hundred 
pounds  never  failed ;  and  he  was  a  true  genius,  and  he  had  a 
magic  palette  which  he  had  only  to  rub  and  beautiful  things 
rose  up,  more  beautiful  than  any  the  world  had  ever  seen. 

But  we  have  been  anticipating.  Thomas  and  Margaret 
began  their  wedded  life  in  a  small  house  in  Ipswich.  Fourteen 
years  later,  at  the  recommendation  of  Philip  Thicknesse,  they 
removed  to  Bath.  The  said  Thicknesse  was  a  very  zealous 
friend,  who  developed  into  a  bore,  as  very  zealous  friends  some- 
times do,  and  after  another  fourteen  years  the  Gainsboroughs 
fled  to  London  to  escape  him.  It  was  not  till  1774  that  Gains- 
borough established  himself  in  Schomberg  House,  Pall  Mall, 
and  he  died  there  of  a  cancerous  affection  on  2nd  August  1788  in 
his  sixty-second  year.  On  his  death-bed  he  wrote  to  Reynolds, 
between  whom  and  himself  there  had  been  always  more  or  less 
estrangement,  asking  him  to  come  and  see  him.  The  letter, 
which  is  endorsed  on  the  back  in  Sir  Joshua's  handwriting, 
"  Gainsborough  when  dying,"  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
Academy.  It  runs  thus  : — 

DEAR  SIR  JOSHUA, 

"  I  am  just  to  write  what  I  fear  you  will  not  read — after 
lying  in  a  dying  state  for  six  months.     The  extreme  affection, 


REYNOLDS  AND  GAINSBOROUGH  COMPARED     73 

which  I  am  informed  of  by  a  friend,  which  Sir  Joshua  has 
expressed,  induces  me  to  beg  a  last  favor,  which  is  to  come 
once  under  my  Roof  and  look  at  my  things,  my  woodman 
you  never  saw.  If  what  I  ask  now  is  not  disagreeable  to  your 
feeling,  that  I  may  have  the  honor  to  speak  to  you,  I  can  from 
a  sincere  Heart  say  that  I  always  admired  and  sincerely  loved 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

"Tno.  GAINSBOROUGH." 

It  was  at  the  interview  which  followed  this  pathetic  appeal 
that  Gainsborough  uttered  the  well-known  words :  "  We  are 
all  going  to  heaven,  and  Van  Dyck  is  of  the  company."  In 
his  fourteenth  Discourse  Reynolds  erected  a  monument  to 
Gainsborough,  which  is  likely  to  be  cere  perennius.  It  is 
a  model  of  cautious  analysis,  of  thoughtful,  philosophical 
criticism ;  but  to  us,  at  least,  it  appears  cold  and  unsym- 
pathetic, and  utterly  unappreciative  of  the  true  greatness  of 
the  painter,  who  is  commonly  called  his  rival,  but  who  worked 
on  totally  different  lines  and  followed  a  totally  different  in- 
spiration. 

There  could  have  been  but  very  little  real  sympathy  between 
the  two  men.  To  Reynolds,  Gainsborough  must  have  appeared 
a  somewhat  questionable  and  enigmatical  person,  not  a  little 
contemptible  even.  His  own  life  had  been  regulated  on  incon- 
trovertible principles ;  he  had  walked  circumspectly,  guided  by 
prudence  and  sagacity ;  diligence,  economy,  punctuality,  order, 
method,  and  duty  were  his  watchwords ;  in  the  whole  course  of 
his  Presidency,  as  already  stated,  he  was  only  twice  absent  from 
his  chair  at  the  council  table  of  the  Royal  Academy.  Though 
too  busy  a  man  for  much  reading,  he  loved  knowledge  and  lost 
no  opportunity  of  acquiring  it ;  he  chose  the  best  and  wisest 
men  as  his  friends  and  associates,  Johnson,  Burke,  and  Gold- 
smith being  his  constant  companions  ;  he  never  began  anything 
without  reflection,  and  what  he  began  he  carried  out ;  and 
finally,  with  each  succeeding  year,  his  contact  with  the  great 


74  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH 

world  had  added  additional  polish  to  his  manners  and  his  mind. 
It  must  have  been  difficult  for  him  even  to  understand  such  a 
character  as  that  of  Gainsborough,  who  did  not  walk  circum- 
spectly :  with  whom,  as  far  as  we  may  judge  by  the  evidence 
before  us,  prudence,  sagacity  as  applied  to  worldly  matters, 
economy,  punctuality,  order,  and  method  were  not ;  who  had  no 
sense  of  duty ;  who  never  once  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  though  frequently  elected  into  the  Council ;  who  did 
not  care  for  any  knowledge  except  that  which  appertained  to 
his  art ;  who  chose  for  friends  and  associates  only  men  who 
amused  him ;  who  constantly  began  pictures  and  never  finished 
them  ;  who  was  guided  by  impulse  and  not  reflection  ;  who  was 
highly  incautious,  blurted  out  the  most  unpalatable  things  in 
conversation  and  writing,  made  the  most  absurd  bargains,  and 
offered  impossible  sums  when  the  whim  was  on  him.  His  was 
not  a  serious,  and,  from  certain  dark  hints,  we  may  gather  not 
altogether  a  respectable,  character ;  he  was  a  bright,  amiable, 
whimsical,  and  lovable  man,  who  revelled  in  the  joys  of  genius, 
of  exquisite  sensibilities  and  exuberant  spirits;  he  was  the 
grasshopper  of  the  fable,  and  his  life  was  one  long  summer 
day  of  love  and  song  and  revelry.  He  worked  hard,  but  not 
laboriously ;  what  he  did  he  did  without  effort,  in  a  fit  of 
enthusiasm;  his  art  was  music  to  him,  it  delighted  his  senses 
and  his  imagination,  and  he  stopped  short  when  it  became 
toilsome. 

The  German  epithet  "  genialisch  "  exactly  applies  to  every- 
thing he  said  and  did,  and  would  be  quite  misapplied  to  the 
acts  and  sayings  of  Reynolds.  We  may  plausibly  surmise  that 
no  permanent  friendship  was  possible  between  them,  that  they 
irritated  each  other,  and  that  neither  could  do  the  other  full 
justice.  Reynolds  possibly  despised  Gainsborough  for  his  want 
of  worldly  wisdom,  prudence,  and  seriousness.  Gainsborough 
may  have  hated  Reynolds  because  he  always  did  what  was 
obviously  and  undeniably  the  right  thing  to  do,  an  achievement 
in  which  he  himself  often  signally  failed. 


CHARACTER  OF  GAINSBOROUGH  75 

Gainsborough  the  artist  is  quite  unequivocal,  but  the  man 
presents  strange  incongruities.  It  is  absolutely  incontestable 
on  the  evidence  of  his  works,  that  in  the  very  bottom  of  his 
heart  he  honoured  and  worshipped  what  was  true  and  good  and 
noble  and  beautiful ;  no  painter  that  ever  lived  surpassed,  or 
perhaps  even  equalled,  his  portraits  of  women,  for  the  expres- 
sion of  innocence  and  moral  purity.  When  he  approached 
his  pictures  he  purged  his  mind  from  all  debasing  ideas,  he 
thought  the  best  of  his  sitters  and  took  them  at  that,  and  he 
has  handed  them  down  to  posterity  clothed  in  the  unspeakable 
graces  of  moral  purity. 

Chesneau  sees,  or  affects  to  see,  in  Reynolds'  portrait  of 
Nelly  O'Brien  a  masterly  and  concentrated  portrayal  of  passion- 
ate desires.  There  is  nothing  of  this  to  be  found  anywhere  in 
Gainsborough,  no  inkling  of  it ;  there  is  no  blush  but  that  of 
health,  no  smile  but  that  of  mirth  and  confidence.  And  yet  it 
is  said  that  he  was  licentious  in  his  speech,  as  certain  letters 
addressed  to  his  friend  William  Jackson,  the  musician  of  "  Te 
Deum  "  fame,  which  have  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  abundantly  certify.  In  some  of  these  letters  unworthy 
and  prurient  images  are  associated  with  subjects  which  ought 
to  have  held  them  aloof.  There  are  passages  in  them  which 
the  licence  of  eighteenth-century  speech  and  manners  fails  to 
explain.  We  must  make  liberal  allowances  for  an  age  in  which 
the  most  refined  women,  such,  for  instance,  as  Mrs  Delany 
and  Swift's  Stella,  whilst  complaining  of  the  coarseness  with 
which  men  addressed  them,  used  terms  which  a  lady  of  the 
present  day  would  be  shocked  to  hear  ;  but  for  all  that  the 
coarseness  of  Gainsborough,  which  is  not  of  words  so  much  as 
of  thought  and  association  of  ideas,  appears  exceptional,  and 
the  conviction  is  forced  upon  us  that  his  correspondent  Jackson 
must  have  been  more  than  ordinarily  friendly  and  less  than 
ordinarily  sensitive. 

The  refinement  of  Gainsborough  as  an  artist,  and  his 
coarseness  as  a  man,  is  an  anomaly  difficult  to  explain,  except 


76  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH 

after  this  fashion.  He  was  a  "  reality,  and  not  a  sham,"  a  lump 
of  humanity  straight  from  nature's  mould  ;  the  polish  and  the 
gloss  was  that  of  the  beautiful  soul  which  nature  had  put  into 
him ;  he  had  an  extraordinary  genius,  exquisite  sensibility, 
and  he  took  an  exalted  and  just  view  of  the  dignity  of  Art ; 
but  he  was  mirthful,  pleasure-loving,  excitable,  passionate ;  he 
took  no  pains  to  improve  himself,  to  make  himself  appear 
other  than  what  he  was  ;  nature  had  always  been  his  guide, 
and  he  remained  a  natural,  unregenerated  man. 

His  letters  to  Jackson  clearly  reveal  a  rude  but  genuine  and 
independent  character,  based  on  realities,  and  scornful  and 
impatient  of  conventionalisms  and  formulas.  He  thinks  his 
friend  pays  too  much  deference  to  rank,  wealth,  and  position, 
and  rates  him  soundly  in  the  following  fashion  : — 

"  Mark,  then,  that  ever  since  I  have  been  quite  clear  in  your 
being  a  real  genius,  so  long  have  I  been  of  opinion  that  you  are 
dayly  throwing  your  gift  away  upon  Gentlemen,  and  only 
studying  how  you  shall  become  the  Gentleman  too ;  now  damn 
Gentlemen,  there  is  not  such  a  set  of  enemies  to  a  real  artist  in 
the  world  as  they  are,  if  not  kept  at  a  proper  distance.  They 
think  (and  so  may  you  for  awhile)  that  they  reward  your  merit 
by  their  company  and  notice  ;  but  I,  who  blow  away  all  the 

chaff,  and  by  G in  their  eyes  too,  if  they  don't  stand  clear, 

know  that  they  have  but  one  part  worth  looking  at,  and  that 
is  their  Purse ;  their  Hearts  are  seldom  near  enough  the  right 
place  to  get  a  sight  of  it." 

It  is  clear  that  Gainsborough,  with  all  his  careless,  and 
unworldly  ways,  was  a  man  of  strong,  proud,  and  self-reliant 
nature — a  man  not  to  be  taken  in  by  flummery,  and  who,  more- 
over, possessed  quite  his  share  of  the  self-consciousness  of 
genius.  Art  and  nature  were  all  in  all  to  him ;  though  stimu- 
lated by  success  and  soothed  by  the  flattering  unction  of  fame, 
his  soul  sighed  to  escape  from  men  of  flattery,  he  yearned  for  a 
simpler  and  more  natural  life. 


HIS  LETTERS  TO  JACKSON  77 

Writing  from  Bath,  he  says : — "  I'm  sick  of  Portraits,  and 
wish  very  much  to  take  my  Viol  da  Gam  and  walk  off  to  some 
sweet  village,  where  I  can  paint  landskips  and  enjoy  the  fag  end 
of  life  in  quietness  and  ease.  But  these  fine  ladies  and  their 
Tea-drinkings,  Dancings,  Husband-huntings,  etc.,  etc.,  will  fob  me 
out  of  the  last  few  years,  and  I  fear  miss  getting  Husbands  too. 
But  we  can  say  nothing  to  these  things,  you  know,  Jackson,  we 
must  jogg  on  and  be  content  with  the  jingling  of  the  bells ; 

only  d mn  it,  I  hate  a  dust,  the  kicking  up  a  dust,  and  being 

confined  in  Harness  to  follow  the  track,  whilst  others  ride  on 
the  waggon,  under  cover,  stretching  their  legs  in  the  straw  at 
ease,  and  gazing  at  green  trees  and  blue  skies  without  half  my 

Taste.      That's  d n;d  hard.      My  comfort  is  that  I  have  5 

Viol  da  Gambs,  3  Jayes,  and  two  Barak  Normans." 

Vain  aspirations !  The  simple  soul,  the  love  of  nature, 
made  the  strength  of  his  genius,  and  that  genius  enforced  its 
penalties,  and  dragged  him  whither  he  would  not  go.  Not  for 
him  were  the  simple  joys  of  the  old  lumbering  broad-wheeled 
waggon,  with  its  bed  of  straw  and  its  arched  cover  of  sackcloth  ; 
he  must  journey  in  his  coach,  with  bells  on  his  horses,  and  kicks 
up  more  and  more  dust,  not  to  some  sweet  village,  but  to  the 
great  capital,  to  the  very  heart  of  London  itself,  Pall  Mall  West, 
to  be  plunged  into  the  very  vortex  of  fine  ladies,  tea-drinkings, 
dancings,  and  husband-huntings  ;  to  solace  himself  as  he  best 
could  with  the  sweet  tootlings  of  Fischer's  hautboy,  the  long- 
drawn  vibrations  of  Abel's  violin,  and  the  flashes  of  Sheridan's 
wit ;  to  die  there,  and  to  be  borne  aloft  by  posthumous  Fame, 
whose  trembling  wings  have  never  lowered  him  to  earth. 

As  to  his  merits  as  an  artist,  compared  with  those  of  Reynolds, 
the  world  is  divided,  always  has  been  divided,  and  probably 
always  will  be  divided.  As  long  at  least  as  men's  minds  shall 
be  differently  constituted,  as  long  as  there  shall  be  people  of  an 
objective  and  a  subjective  turn,  as  there  shall  be  realists  and 
idealists,  Whigs  and  Tories,  big-endians  and  little-endians,  or 
any  two  ways  of  looking  at  things.  Those  who  love  law  and 


78  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH 

science,  who  bow  to  prescription  and  who  worship  culture,  will 
always  prefer  Reynolds  ;  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  desire 
emotion,  the  thrill  of  surprise,  the  indescribable  tingling  excite- 
ment which  is  evoked  by  the  aspect  of  the  unexpected,  will  award 
the  superiority  to  Gainsborough. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  attempt  to  pass  judgment.  We  will 
endeavour  only  to  define  the  difference  between  them,  a  thing 
by  no  means  easy  to  do.  Art  is  subtle,  its  distinctions,  though 
important,  are  delicate ;  they  belong  to  things  spiritual,  and 
often  baffle  the  coarse  materialism  of  words  and  phrases.  It 
appears  the  most  convenient  and  promising  way  to  describe 
their  separate  methods  of  working. 

Let  us  imagine  Reynolds  to  have  made  an  appointment 
with  a  sitter,  a  young  lady  of  a  classic  cast  of  countenance,  with 
dark  hair,  and  to  have  made  due  note  of  the  date  and  the 
hour  in  one  of  those  shabby  little  note-books  which  are  pre- 
served in  the  Royal  Academy.  In  the  interim  he  carefully 
cogitates  his  picture.  He  has  long  wished  to  paint  a  picture 
with  a  mass  of  amber  colour  as  his  principal  light,  opposed  to 
red  in  shadow,  with  a  green  blue  as  a  foil.  The  amber  dress  and 
the  flesh  shall  make  the  principal  light,  two  other  minor  lights 
must  be  introduced  ;  the  dark  hair  will  serve  for  the  extreme 
point  of  shade.  Those  two  minor  lights  must  be  seen  to ; 
perhaps  if  nothing  strikes  him,  he  turns  over  a  portfolio  of 
engravings,  and  finally  gets  an  idea.  When  the  appointed 
hour  arrives,  and  with  it  the  sitter,  he  is  ready ;  his  picture  is 
schemed  out,  it  exists  in  his  head.  The  classic  cast  of  counten- 
ance has  suggested  a  reference  to  Lempriere's  Dictionary,  or 
whatever  book  of  that  character  existed  at  the  time ;  he  has 
got  a  subject  and  a  title,  and  he  begins  with  certainty  and 
fearlessness. 

Gainsborough,  on  the  other  hand,  makes  an  appointment 
which  he  thinks  no  more  of,  trusting  to  be  duly  reminded  of  it 
by  his  faithful  Margaret ;  he  plays  on  the  fiddle  with  Abel  or 
listens  to  his  son-in-law  Fischer's  hautboy,  and  when  the  hour 


AS  A  PORTRAIT  PAINTER  79 

arrives  he  sits  down  before  his  easel  with  a  mind  as  blank  as 
the  canvas  before  him.  His  sitter  is  a  young  lady,  he  eyes  her 
intently,  he  chats  with  her,  he  'draws  her  out,  he  gets  excited, 
strange  flashes  of  drollery  and  absurdity  escape  him  ;  she  turns 
in  her  chair,  her  face  lights  up,  and  inspiration  comes  to  him. 
"  Stay  as  you  are  ! "  he  exclaims.  He  sees  a  picture,  he  seizes 
his  palette  and  begins.  He  painted  what  he  could  discover  in 
nature ;  Reynolds  used  nature  to  help  him  to  paint  what  he  had 
already  discovered  ;  his  work  presents  what  the  French  have 
called  "  le  voulu,"  that  of  the  other  "  1'imprevu." 

We  shall  be  able  to  enforce  the  distinction  more  clearly  by 
an  illustration. 

Reynolds  and  Gainsborough  both  painted  the  wife  of  Richard 
Brinsley  Sheridan,  of  whom  Mrs  D'Arblay  said  that  her  beauty 
surpassed  almost  any  she  had  ever  seen.  Reynolds'  picture  is 
in  his  finest  manner,  it  is  a  deep  golden  harmony  painted  with 
rich  unctuous  impasto.  It  is  ideally  treated ;  Mrs  Sheridan,  in 
a  golden  white  drapery,  represents  St  Cecilia  playing  on  a 
harpsichord,  with  cherubs  hovering  in  the  air  apparently 
entranced  by  the  music.  The  face  is  seen  almost  in  profile,  it 
is  exquisitely  lovely,  there  is  an  air  of  refinement  and  grace  in 
the  whole  figure ;  attitude  and  expression  are  both  idealised. 
St  Cecilia  seems  to  be  in  an  ecstatic  dream,  carried  away  by 
the  charms  of  music. 

Gainsborough's  picture,  represents  Mrs  Sheridan  seated 
under  a  tree ;  she  seems  to  have  popped  herself  down  there 
suddenly,  with  her  two  dainty  little  feet  sticking  up  straight  in 
front  of  her ;  she  has  pulled  off  her  hat,  and  her  hair  is  ruffled 
about  ;  she  looks  straight  at  you.  As  you  look  at  it,  you  say 
to  yourself,  this  is  indeed  "  the  beautiful  mother  of  a  beautiful 
race,"  as  she  was  called.  There  is  no  attempt  at  ideality,  the 
picture  is  sketchily,  carelessly  painted,  it  has  none  of  the 
accomplishment,  the  study,  the  thorough  workmanship  of  that 
of  Reynolds,  neither  has  it  his  dignity  and  loftiness  of  treatment. 
But  it  fascinates  you,  it  is  like  the  author  himself,  lively,  witty, 


80  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH 

capricious,  full  of  music  and  passion,  waywardness  and  impulse  ; 
there  is  no  calculation  or  forethought,  order  or  tidiness  about 
it,  it  is  painted  in  a  fit  of  enthusiasm  whe  the  imagination  had 
raised  itself  into  the  region  which  is  beyond  all  rules.  When 
Gainsborough  was  in  this  mood,  so  happy  with  his  subject,  his 
technique  rose  to  a  point  of  excellence  in  certain  respects  which 
has  never  been  attained  by  any  other  painter.  He  was  uncul- 
tured as  an  artist ;  Reynolds  in  his  fourteenth  Discourse  compares 
him  "  to  such  men  as  we  sometimes  meet  with,  whose  natural 
eloquence  appears  even  in  speaking  a  language  which  they  can 
scarce  be  said  to  understand ;  and  who,  without  knowing  the 
appropriate  expression  of  almost  any  one  idea,  contrive  to 
communicate  the  lively  and  forcible  expressions  of  an  energetic 
mind."  He  certainly  does  that,  and  moreover  when  in  an 
inspired  mood,  as  in  the  portrait  of  Mrs  Sheridan,  he  reveals  an 
innate  gift  arid  aptitude  for  Art  which  may  really  be  called 
unrivalled.  The  sparkle,  the  life  and  animation  which  he  has 
imparted  to  the  eyes  and  mouth,  the  natural  grace,  beauty,  and 
artlessness  of  the  figure,  and  poise  of  the  head,  the  way  it  is  set 
on  the  neck  and  shoulders,  the  treatment  of  the  tumbled  untidy 
hair,  the  colour  and  composition  of  the  picture  generally,  all 
reveal  a  rare  and  peculiar  genius,  which  is,  strictly  speaking, 
inimitable. 

His  picture  of  "  The  Sisters,"  has  the  same  characteristic 
excellencies  ;  and  our  readers  will  no  doubt  call  to  mind  many 
another  beautiful  woman  by  Gainsborough,  whose  sweet  ingenu- 
ous face  seems  to  beam  out  upon  us  from  the  material  canvas 
like  a  thing  of  life,  a  creature  with  a  soul,  to  which  his  own 
responds  sympathetically. 

It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion  after  a  dinner,  Reynolds 
rose  and  proposed  the  health  of  "  Mr  Gainsborough,  the  greatest 
living  landscape  painter  " ;  Wilson  was  present,  he  jumped  up 
and  added,  "and  the  greatest  living  portrait  painter  also." 
It  has  been  well  said  that  neither  of  the  speakers  was  quite 
aware  how  much  truth  there  was  in  his  remark.  It  happened, 


AS  A  LANDSCAPE  PAINTER  81 

if  it  ever  did  happen,  in  the  days  before  Turner  ;  we  can  now 
no  longer  think  of  Gainsborough  as  the  greatest  of  landscape 
painters,  we  are  compelled  to  pull  down  his  claims  out  of  the 
superlative  into  the  comparative  degree.  During  his  lifetime, 
he  enjoyed  a  great  reputation  for  his  landscapes,  everybody 
praised  them  and  extolled  them  and  nobody  bought  them ;  the 
halls  and  passages  in  Schomberg  House  were  hung  with  them  ; 
and  Reynolds'  toast  may  have  been  intended  in  a  kindly  spirit 
as  a  gentle  hint  to  the  world  that  a  great  genius  was  being 
neglected. 

In  endeavouring  to  estimate  his  claims  we  must  make 
allowance  for  the  fact  that,  since  his  day,  landscape  painting  has 
taken  an  entirely  new  departure.  Ruskin  writes  of  him  in  these 
words :  "  The  greatest  colourist  since  Rubens  and  the  last  I 
think  of  legitimate  colourists  ;  that  is  to  say,  of  those  who  were 
fully  acquainted  with  the  power  of  their  material ;  pure  in  his 
English  feelings,  profound  in  his  seriousness,  graceful  in  his 
gaiety."  And  again  speaking  of  his  works,  "they  are  rather 
motives  of  feeling  and  colour  than  earnest  studies,  their  execu- 
tion is  in  some  degree  mannered  and  always  hasty,  they  are 
altogether  wanting  in  the  affectionate  detail  of  which  I  have 
already  spoken  and  their  colour  is  in  some  measure  dependent 
on  a  bituminous  brown  and  conventional  green,  which  have 
more  of  science  than  of  truth  in  them." 

The  landscape  painter  of  the  present  day,  the  camper-out  in 
the  fields,  the  earnest  follower,  in  some  cases  even  the  slave,  of 
nature,  would  be  inclined  to  describe  the  landscapes  of  the  last 
century  as  representing  an  impossible  universe ;  where  the  sky 
was  not  the  vast  laboratory  in  which  were  distilled  the  dews 
and  vapours  which  hourly  fertilise  the  earth,  but  a  field  of 
meaningless  blue  in  which  were  suspended  what  look  more  like 
feather  beds  than  any  known  form  of  water ;  where  the  earth 
was  without  stratification  or  intelligible  structure,  and  composed 
entirely  of  baked  clay  and  putty ;  where  the  trees  had  gutta- 
percha  stems,  with  no  past  history  discernible  in  their  forms, 

F 


82  THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH 

no  joy  or  vigour  in  their  growth ;  where  the  grass  was  a  mean- 
ingless wash  of  translucent  green  which  appeared  to  afford 
subsistence  to  bituminous  cows,  and  an  insecure  resting-place 
to  questionable  milkmaids. 

The  universe,  as  depicted  by  Gainsborough,  is  open  to 
satirical  criticism  of  that  kind  ;  nothing  is  seriously  or  carefully 
studied,  but,  as  in  his  figure  pictures,  he  goes  to  the  heart  of  the 
matter,  the  soul  which  underlies  the  outward  features,  and 
represents  that.  How  the  aspect  of  external  nature  affected 
him,  Thomas  Gainsborough,  what  solemn  emotions  it  awakened 
in  him,  in  other  words  how  nature  sympathised  with  his  moods 
and  feelings — that  he  represents  with  magnificent  power,  with 
a  richness  and  depth  of  colouring  which,  as  Ruskin  says, 
connects  him  with  Rubens. 

In  a  world  given  over  for  the  most  part  to  artificialities  and 
impostures  of  all  kinds,  to  conventionalisms  instead  of  principles, 
a  world  which  only  took  its  self-interests  at  first  hand,  all  the 
rest,  its  thinking  and  its  morals,  at  second,  the  figure  of  Thomas 
Gainsborough  stands  out  with  the  vividness  and  distinctness  of 
one  of  his  own  pictures.  He  had  grave  faults,  he  had  little 
sense  of  duty,  he  was  selfish ;  we  do  not  at  present  know  all  his 
faults  ;  but  he  was  a  man  with  a  fearless,  independent  mind, 
with  a  warm  heart  and  great  soul  in  him.  He  cared  nothing 
whatever  for  conventionalisms,  he  took  his  pleasure  where  he 
found  it.  In  his  art  he  did  the  thing  he  loved  and  left  out  the 
rest.  In  society  he  was  open  and  genuine,  he  said  what  he 
thought  about  people — if  he  liked  them  he  took  them  to  his 
heart,  if  they  were  not  congenial  he  quarrelled  with  them.  He 
acted  on  impulse  and  did  a  number  of  foolish  unworldly  things  ; 
but  with  his  whole  soul  he  worshipped  the  "  Eternal  Veracities  "  ; 
and  it  is  that  earnestness,  that  real  depth  of  insight  and  of 
character,  which  elevates  his  art,  an  art  which  is  slight,  sketchy, 
imperfect,  and  careless,  which  any  student  can  pick  to  pieces, 
but  which  has  never  lost  its  hold  on  men's  hearts  and  probably 
never  will,  as  long  as  the  materials  hold  together.  Reynolds, 


HIS  OPINION  OF  REYNOLDS  83 

alive  to  every  artifice,  with  a  hand  trained  to  obey  his  will,  was 
obliged  to  confess  that  he  did  not  understand  how  Gainsborough 
got  his  effects ;  and  Gainsborough,  looking  at  the  works  of  his 
rival,  the  great  eclectic  who  had  formed  himself,  as  he  says,  "  on 
the  full  body  of  the  best  general  practice,"  was  constrained  to 
exclaim,  "  Damn  it,  how  various  he  is ! "  These  two  sayings 
suggests  nearly  everything  that  can  be  said  about  Art.  Genius 
of  a  high  order  is  given  only  to  a  few,  it  produces  works  which 
are  inexplicable  and  inimitable,  but  it  cannot  found  schools  or 
be  a  special  attribute  of  any  age  or  country.  Culture  is  com. 
municable,  it  enlarges  the  mind  and  gives  a  man  a  wide  range 
of  subject ;  if  less  admirable  and  wonderful  it  is  perhaps  more 
useful  to  mankind. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   REMAINING   FOUNDATION   AND   NOMINATED   MEMBERS 

WE  now  proceed  to  deal  with  the  remaining  original  members 
of  the  Academy,  with  the  exception  of  Benjamin  West,  who  will 
be  treated  of  in  a  separate  chapter. 

Although  the  second  clause  of  the  Instrument  of  Institution 
states  that  it  is  "  His  Majesty's  pleasure  that  the  following  forty 
persons  be  the  original  members  of  the  said  Society,"  only 
thirty-six  names  are  contained  in  the  list  appended  to  this 
clause,  and  of  these  the  two  last,  William  Hoare  and  Johan 
Zoffany,  were  not  nominated  by  the  king  till  the  end  of  1769,  a 
year  after  the  foundation,  while  the  remaining  four  were  elected, 
the  whole  number  of  forty  not  being  completed  till  1773.  Strictly 
speaking,  therefore,  the  term  "  Foundation  Members  "  can  only 
be  applied  to  the  first  thirty-four.  But  the  term  "  nominated  " 
may  certainly  be  applied  to  Hoare  and  Zoffany.  It  may  be 
recorded  as  a  point  of  some  interest,  that  of  the  nominated 
thirty-six  members  no  less  than  nine,  one-fourth,  were 
foreigners. 

FRANCESCO  BARTOLOZZI,  R.A., 

born  in  1727,  was  a  native  of  Florence.  His  father  was  a  gold- 
smith and  worker  in  filigree,  and  as  a  boy  he  learnt  to  use  the 
implements  he  found  in  his  father's  workshop,  showing  a 
precocious  facility  with  the  graver,  which  led  to  his  father 

84 


FRANCESCO  BARTOLOZZI  85 

placing  him  under  a  historical  painter  named  Hickford  or 
Hugford,  born  in  Flanders  of  English  parents.  For  three  years 
his  education  was  that  of  a  painter ;  he  became  an  excellent 
draughtsman,  both  after  nature  and  the  antique,  and  he  made 
original  designs  and  executed  them  in  colour.  Although  in 
later  years  the  mass  of  work  thrust  upon  him  as  an  engraver 
interfered  with  his  practice  with  the  palette,  he  never  quite 
relinquished  it,  and  when  he  was  elected  one  of  the  foundation 
members  of  the  Royal  Academy,  it  was  on  the  score  of  his 
accomplishments  as  a  painter  and  an  original  designer,  quite  as 
much  as  an  engraver.  At  Hugford's  he  became  intimate  with 
Giovanni  Battista  Cipriani,  a  young  man,  or  rather  boy,  of  his 
own  age.  Their  student  days  over,  each  went  his  own  way, 
Bartolozzi  to  serve  a  six  years'  apprenticeship  under  Joseph 
Wagner,  an  engraver  settled  in  Venice,  and  Cipriani  to  study  in 
Rome,  where  he  met  with  Sir  William  Chambers,  who  brought 
him  to  England  in  1755. 

Bartolozzi  rapidly  acquired  a  great  reputation  as  an  engraver, 
and  was,  in  1764,  induced  to  come  to  this  country  by  Richard 
Dalton,  librarian  to  George  III.  Here  he  found  his  old  fellow- 
student  already  established,  and  took  lodgings  with  him  in  War- 
wick Street,  Golden  Square.  He  continued  to  reside  in  London 
and  to  practise  his  art  assiduously  until  1802,  when  he  took  his 
departure,  after  a  sojourn  of  thirty-eight  years.  The  last  )^ears 
of  his  life  were  spent  in  Lisbon,  where  he  died  in  1815  in  his 
eighty-eighth  year.  He  was  considered  the  greatest  engraver 
of  his  time,  and  his  reputation  is  only  marred  by  the  occasional 
production  of  hasty  and  inferior  works,  into  which  he  was 
driven  by  his  thriftless  habits  and  his  constant  necessities ; 
for  though  his  industry  was  enormous,  and  he  made  a  large 
income,  he  appears  to  have  been  a  careless,  jovial  man,  who 
did  not  hesitate  to  spend  as  quickly  as  he  earned. 


86       FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

GIOVANNI  BATTISTA  CIPRIANI,  R.A., 

was  also  a  native  of  Florence,  and  born  in  1727.  His  pictures 
are  little  known,  but  his  designs  were  widely  spread  by  the 
graver  of  his  friend  and  fellow-townsman,  Bartolozzi,  and  the 
diploma  of  the  Royal  Academy  ranks  amongst  the  best  speci- 
mens of  their  joint  efforts.  The  designs  for  the  gold  and  silver 
medals  presented  to  the  prize-winners  in  the  Academy  schools 
were  also  by  Cipriani;  and  on  I3th  October  1769,  the  Council 
resolved  to  present  him  with  a  silver  cup  "as  an  acknowledg- 
ment for  the  assistance  the  Academy  hath  received  from  his 
great  abilities  in  his  profession."  He  continued  to  live  in 
England,  and  died  at  Hammersmith  in  1785.  Fuseli  has 
paid  a  very  handsome  tribute  to  his  worth,  both  for  his 
talents  as  an  artist,  the  probity  of  his  character,  and  the 
goodness  of  his  heart. 

AGOSTINO  CARLINI,  R.A., 

who  succeeded  Moser,  in  1783,  as  Keeper  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  was  a  native  of  Geneva  and  a  sculptor,  who  is  said  to 
have  excelled  in  draperies,  as  Italian  Sculpture  has  done  in  its 
decay.  The  texture  of  silks,  velvets,  and  laces  are  rendered 
with  extraordinary  skill  by  the  carvers  of  Italy,  who  are,  at  the 
same  time,  entirely  ignorant  of  the  true  functions  of  sculpture 
and  the  qualities  in  which  its  excellence  resides.  Carlini 
executed  an  equestrian  statue  of  George  III.,  of  which  the 
Academy  possesses  a  model.  His  death  occurred  in  1790. 

FRANCIS  COTES,  R.A., 

was  born  in  London  in  1725,  and  was  a  pupil  of  George  Knap- 
ton.  His  career  as  a  portrait  painter  was  a  very  successful  one, 
from  the  point  of  view  which  considers  the  postal  district  to 


FRANCIS  COTES  87 

which  a  man  has  his  letters  addressed,  and  the  sort  of  house  he 
lives  in,  as  conclusive  of  his  merits.  Cotes  was  able  to  build 
and,  what  is  a  greater  achievement,  to  continue  residing  in,  a 
house  in  Cavendish  Square,  subsequently  occupied  in  turn  by 
Romney  and  Sir  Martin  A.  Shee,  where,  on  2Oth  July  1770, 
when  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  that  is  in  his  forty-fifth  year,  and 
with  a  very  extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  he  died.  His  death 
created  the  first  vacancy  in  the  ranks  of  the  Academicians.  It 
has  been  said  that  the  works  of  Cotes  bear  a  strong  resemblance 
to  those  of  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough ;  but  this  is  a  very  dubi- 
ous verdict,  and  the  argument  put  forward  to  support  the  asser- 
tion is  quite  comically  illogical,  namely,  that  Peter  Toms  worked 
for  all  the  three ;  which  would  go  to  prove,  not  that  Cotes  was 
like  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough,  but  that  all  three  of  them  were 
like  Peter  Toms.  It  may  happen  to  any  of  us  to  notice  on  some 
summer  morning  in  a  garden,  that  the  gravel  walk,  the  marble 
pedestal,  and  the  sculptured  urn,  are  scored  with  the  same 
glistening  trail,  which  marks  the  midnight  peregrinations  of  our 
enemy  Helix  aspersa,  but  does  that  make  them  like  each  other  ? 
Cotes  was  a  pleasing  and  meritorious  artist,  especially  as  a 
draughtsman  in  crayons.  His  pictures  have  a  generic  likeness 
to  those  of  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough,  but  it  goes  no  farther, 
and  to  attempt  to  raise  him  to  the  Olympian  height,  the  cloud 
level,  occupied  by  the  two  great  fathers  of  English  portraiture, 
is  to  turn  on  a  light  more  searching  than  he  can  bear. 

It  has  happened  in  our  experience  to  find  ourselves  in  some 
country  house,  whose  walls  are  decorated  with  portraits  of 
ancestors,  and  to  have  our  attention  called  to  some  grand  or 
great-grandmother,  whose  effigy  looks  down  upon  us  from  a 
picture,  solidly  painted  in  a  good  style,  somewhat  clumsy  perhaps 
in  execution  but  with  a  certain  massive  dignity,  and  when  we  have 
been  told  that  it  is  by  an  unknown  artist  we  have  said  to  our- 
selves it  is  by  Francis  Cotes.  So  wags  the  world ;  we  give  the 
great  name  to  things  which  have  no  claim  to  it,  the  lesser  name 
we  forget,  and  obscurer  merit  is  defrauded  of  its  meed. 


88        FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 


GEORGE  DANCE,  R.A. 

Amongst  the  original  members  of  the  Royal  Academy  were 
two  sons  of  George  Dance,  who  was  architect  to  the  Corporation 
of  London,  and  who  designed  the  Mansion  House  and  some 
churches  in  the  city. 

George  Dance,  junior,  was  born  in  1740.  Following  his 
father's  profession,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  succeeded 
him  in  the  office  of  City  Surveyor,  and  it  was  no  doubt  his 
official  position  rather  than  anything  he  could  have  achieved 
at  that  early  age  which  caused  his  nomination  in  the  same 
year  into  the  ranks  of  the  newly  instituted  Academy.  He 
justified  the  choice,  however,  by  works  subsequently  executed. 
Newgate  Prison,  probably  the  best  of  these,  was  a  good 
example  of  expression  in  architecture ;  its  grim  portals 
looked  like  the  entrances  to  the  realm  of  abandoned  hope, 
and  its  massive  walls,  darkened  by  time  and  unpierced  by 
openings,  were  like  barriers  which  admitted  of  no  return. 
His  most  ambitious  effort,  and  also  his  greatest  failure,  was 
the  facade  of  Guildhall,  a  building  utterly  devoid  of  civic 
dignity  or  of  apparent  appropriateness.  But  it  is  not  in  con- 
nection with  architecture  that  we  best  love  to  recall  the  name 
of  George  Dance.  Amongst  the  treasures  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  is  a  beautiful  series  of  profile  portraits  by  him. 
They  were  engraved  by  William  Daniell ;  but  no  reproduc- 
tion can  convey  any  idea  of  the  excellence  of  the  originals, 
of  their  firm  and  graceful  pencilling,  or  their  lifelike  expression, 
which,  to  a  certain  extent,  reminds  one  of  Holbein. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Academy  it  was  customary  to  fine 
those  members  who  did  not  exhibit,  and  George  Dance  appears 
as  a  defaulter  on  more  than  one  occasion.  An  entry  in  the 
Council  minutes  of  2nd  September  1769,  states:  "Mr  George 
Dance  attended  and  paid  the  treasurer  the  penalty  of  £5,  which 
he  had  incurred  by  having  omitted  to  exhibit  in  the  Royal 


GEORGE  DANCE  89 

Exhibition,  1769  ; "  and  on  6th  November  1772,  there  is  another 
entry  to  the  effect  that  "  George  Dance,  Esq.,  and  John 
Richards,  Esq.,  attended  and  made  such  excuses  for  their  having 
omitted  to  send  performances  to  the  last  exhibition  as  was  (stc) 
deemed  sufficient  by  the  Council ; "  while  at  the  same  meeting, 
Zucchi,  the  Associate,  was  fined  £2,  ics.  for  not  having  exhibited. 
But  George  Dance  made  himself  useful  in  other  ways  than 
exhibiting,  as  he  was  appointed  with  William  Tyler  in  1795  to 
examine  into  the  finances  of  the  Academy,  on  the  resignation  by 
Chambers  of  the  treasurership.  As  a  consequence  of  this  report 
it  was  resolved  to  appoint  auditors,  and  the  first  two  chosen  on 
loth  December  1796,  were  the  authors  of  the  report.  They 
were  several  times  re-elected,  and  on  2nd  February  1799,  the 
Council  voted  each  of  them  a  silver  cup  of  the  value  of  twenty- 
five  guineas,  "  for  the  very  great  services  they  had  rendered  in 
investigating  and  settling  the  accounts  of  the  Royal  Academy 
up  to  the  present  year."  Ten  years  later  Dance  was  voted 
another  silver  cup  of  the  value  of  £50,  "for  the  ability  and 
fidelity  with  which  he  long  discharged  the  office  of  auditor." 
He  was  elected  Professor  of  Architecture  in  1798  and  resigned 
in  1805,  never  apparently  having  delivered  any  lectures.  He 
died  in  1825  and  is  buried  in  St  Paul's.  He  was  the  last 
survivor  of  the  foundation  members. 

NATHANIEL  DANCE,  R.A.  [Sir  Nathaniel  Dance- 
Holland,  Bart], 

the  third  son  of  George  Dance,  senior,  born  in  1734,  devoted  him- 
self to  painting.  He  studied  under  Francis  Hayman,  and  after 
Thomas  Gainsborough,  was  the  most  distinguished  pupil  of  a  man 
of  whom  it  may  be  said,  that  if  not  witty  himself  he  was  the  cause 
of  wit  in  others.  Dance  afterwards  studied  in  Italy,  and  on  his 
return  acquired  considerable  celebrity  both  as  a  painter  of 
portraits  and  history.  History  in  those  days  was  the  term  used 
to  designate  a  form  of  Art  which  had  no  particular  foundation  in 


90       FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

nature,  or  in  impressions  which  nature  produced  on  people's 
imaginations  ;  it  was  the  result  of  attentive  study  of  the  works 
of  Guercino  and  the  Carracci,  of  Luca  Giordano  and  Carlo 
Maratti. 

Nathaniel  Dance  painted  excellent  portraits  and  might  have 
gone  on  triumphantly  in  the  more  difficult  pursuit  of  history, 
had  not  his  career  been  cut  short  by  circumstances  over  which 
he  only  had  a  partial  control.  Nature  had  gifted  him  with  a 
handsome  person  and  a  fine  leg ;  qualities  which  attracted  the 
observant  and  appreciative  eye  of  a  certain  Mrs  Dummer,  who, 
in  addition  to  other  attractions  which  she  no  doubt  possessed, 
had  an  independent  income  of  £18,000  a  year.  So  Dance 
married  her,  and  on  the  ist  November  1790  resigned  his  seat 
at  the  Royal  Academy,  forsaking  the  practice  both  of  portrait 
and  history  painting.  Soon  afterwards  he  assumed  the  name 
of  Holland  in  addition  to  that  of  Dance,  was  elected  a  member 
of  Parliament,  and  was  presented  with  a  baronetcy  by  his 
grateful  country  in  1800.  He  died  at  Winchester  in  1811.  He 
is  said  occasionally  to  have  painted  landscapes,  in  the  intervals 
of  the  more  serious  duty  of  governing  the  country,  but  we  can 
call  to  mind  no  example  which  has  left  any  definite  impression. 

MARY  MOSER,  R.A. 

If  in  the  race  for  wealth  and  honours  selfish  men  have  in 
former  times  kept  the  monopoly  to  themselves,  it  is  the  case 
no  longer ;  in  many  directions  we  may  say,  "  les  carrieres 
sont  libres."  In  Art  they  have  always  been  so ;  but  it  happens 
that  the  only  two  ladies  ever  elected  into  the  ranks  of  the 
Royal  Academy  were  at  its  outset.  Their  names  are  on  the 
first  roll  call  —  Mary  Moser  and  Angelica  KaufTman.  Mary 
Moser  was  the  daughter  of  G.  M.  Moser,  R.A.,  the  first  Keeper 
of  the  Royal  Academy.  Her  name  is  unknown  to  fame 
except  as  a  flower  painter,  in  which  capacity  she  decorated 
an  entire  room  at  Frogmore  for  Queen  Charlotte.  Disappointed 


ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN  91 

in  an  attachment  she  is  supposed  to  have  formed  for  her 
father's  successor  in  the  office  of  Keeper,  Fuseli,  she  married 
a  Captain  Lloyd,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age  on  2nd  May 
1819. 

ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN,  R.A. 

This  lady,  whose  correct  name  was  Marie  Anne  Angelique 
Kauffman,  was  a  far  more  interesting  personality  than  Mary 
Moser.  Her  history  is  full  of  graceful  suggestiveness,  and 
contains  a  touch  of  deep  pathos,  which  has  been  made  the 
groundwork  of  a  romance. 

Let  us,  before  relating  the  incidents  of  her  life,  and  for 
fear  of  creating  an  anti-climax  of  interest,  proceed  to  investi- 
gate her  claims  as  an  artist.  It  must  be  remembered  that  she 
acquired  her  Art  in  Italy,  in  an  age  of  utter  artistic  decrepi- 
tude, when  the  national  genius  had  sunk  to  the  lowest  depths, 
when  the  energy  and  enthusiasm  which  had  once  animated 
the  painter  had  been  replaced  by  a  mindless  formalism — a 
blind  worship  of  old  examples.  Angelica,  from  her  earliest 
student  days,  had  been  taught  by  every  one  around  her,  that 
there  was  but  one  path  in  Art — that  reverently  to  follow  the 
footsteps  of  Raphael,  Michael  Angelo,  and  Correggio,  though 
even  at  an  immense  distance,  was  the  noblest  career  left  to 
the  painter ;  nothing  else  was  possible  to  any  one  who  had 
self-respect ;  and  she  acted  on  the  teaching.  She  was  a 
woman,  and  therefore — our  readers  will  pardon  such  a  hazardous 
generalisation — an  optimist;  she  believed  in  the  possibility  of 
regenerating  Art,  and  womanlike,  she  also  would  be  satisfied 
with  nothing  but  the  highest  motives  and  the  loftiest  aims  ; 
there  was  to  be  no  truckling  expediency,  no  half-hearted  com- 
promises with  indifference  and  a  public  taste  which  had  gone 
to  the  bad.  High  Art,  Art  of  the  highest,  or  nothing,  was  her 
motto.  And  with  all  that,  she  failed  in  the  manner  she  had 
selected.  Meagreness  is  no  quality  of  any  great  Art,  least  of 


92       FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

all  of  the  Art  of  the  Italian  Renaissance ;  that  was  ample, 
voluminous,  large  in  its  forms,  unstinted  in  its  curvature,  pre- 
senting huge  bosses  of  form  against  vast  vistas  of  receding 
space  ;  whereas  the  poor,  stinted,  half-starved  lines  of  Angelica, 
almost  as  flat  as  the  backgrounds,  which  she  fondly  hoped 
they  relieved  from,  her  evident  artificiality  of  attitude  and 
costume,  suggest,  alas,  for  her  reputation,  no  inspiration  but 
pedantry,  and  no  love  but  at  second  hand,  a  love  not  of  the 
subject  but  of  the  idea  of  the  subject.  Her  colouring,  more- 
over, had  a  certain  rufousness  and  tendency  to  vinous  tones 
which  is  often  very  unpleasant.  This  may  seem  a  harsh  ver- 
dict, but  of  what  use  is  fame,  and  how  is  a  man  bettered  by 
it  when  he  is  dead?  In  the  dim  regions  hidden  from  the 
sight  of  mortals  and  impervious  to  their  fancy,  where  the  freed 
spirits  are  roaming,  it  may  suffice  to  them,  and  perhaps  give 
them  greater  satisfaction  to  know  that  we  reverence  their 
memories  and  bow  in  silent  admiration  of  their  virtues ;  and 
to  gentle  Angelica,  the  "  Miss  Angel "  of  Reynolds'  note-books, 
it  is  greater  glory  to  have  kept  a  place  in  history,  and  to  be 
mentioned  with  tenderness  and  respect,  although  no  one  now 
cares  for  her  pictures. 

At  the  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Academy  and 
of  her  nomination  by  the  king  to  the  rank  of  R.A.,  Angelica 
was  living  in  London  with  her  father,  Jean  Joseph  Kauffman, 
a  Swiss  portrait  painter ;  she  was  only  six-and-twenty,  and  is 
described  as  very  beautiful.  She  was  born  at  Coire,  in  the 
Grisons,  in  1741,  and  had  landed  in  this  country  three  years 
before  the  foundation  of  the  Academy  in  the  company  of  Lady 
Wentworth,  with  a  sort  of  aureole  or  nimbus  of  glory  about 
her,  which  she  derived  from  a  very  laudatory  notice  by  the 
Abbe  Winckelmann,  who,  with  Mengs,  Algarotti,  and  Roger  de 
Piles,  were  the  shining  lights  of  criticism  in  that  benighted  age. 
We  may  judge  how  great  must  have  been  its  darkness  by  the 
darkness  of  its  lights. 

Lady  Wentworth's   fair   young   protegee  became  the  rage; 


ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN'S  HUSBANDS  93 

her  beauty,  her  accomplishments,  the  charm  of  her  manner, 
her  sweet  voice  and  her  musical  talents,  delighted  every  one. 
Society  was  at  her  feet,  and  commissions  poured  in  upon  her. 
Reynolds  and  Fuseli  are  said  to  have  been  rivals  for  her 
heart.  It  was  decreed,  however,  that  neither  of  them  was  to 
marry  her,  that  her  affections,  her  trustfulness,  her  desire  for 
sympathy,  all  that  was  womanly  in  her  nature,  were  to  be 
cruelly  imposed  and  trampled  upon,  that  she  was  to  be  duped 
into  the  semblance  of  a  marriage  with  a  rascally  adventurer 
of  low  degree,  who  had  deserted  a  wife  still  living  in  Germany, 
and  who  was  crippled,  and  could  have  had  no  possible  motive 
for  marrying  her  but  cupidity.  This  fellow's  name  is  supposed 
to  have  been  Brandt,  but  he  had  assumed  so  many  aliases 
the  fact  was  difficult  to  establish.  When  he  crossed  the  path  of 
hapless  Angelica  Kauffman,  he  had  some  money  in  his  pocket, 
was  dressed  in  fine  clothes,  and  passed  himself  off  as  Count 
Frederic  de  Horn,  of  noble  Swedish  family.  Such  a  person  really 
existed,  and  it  is  said  that  Brandt  had  once  served  him  as 
valet  de  chambre.  Brandt  was  a  fine-looking  man,  and  had 
somehow  picked  up  a  certain  polish  of  manner,  with  a  swag- 
gering air,  which  imposed  upon  the  simple,  unsuspecting 
Angelica,  who  conceived  a  passion  for  him,  and  was  finally  per- 
suaded into  a  secret  marriage  with  him.  He  soon,  however, 
began  to  extort  money  from  her ;  her  suspicions  were  aroused, 
and  her  father,  in  whose  house  she  had  remained,  heard  of  it. 
Inquiries  were  made,  and  as  there  appeared  to  have  been 
informalities  about  the  marriage,  her  friends  set  to  work  to 
get  it  dissolved.  It  was  ascertained  that  Brandt  had  a  wife 
living,  and  the  marriage  became  null ;  Angelica,  out  of  pure 
generosity,  paying  the  rascal  a  sum  of  money  to  be  off  and 
show  himself  no  more. 

For  some  years  a  cloud  hung  over  Angelica,  but  she  out- 
lived it,  and  was  quite  restored  to  public  favour.  After  seven- 
teen years  spent  in  England,  she  married,  in  1781,  a  Venetian 
painter,  Antonio  Zucchi,  one  of  the  first  elected  Associates  of 


94       FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

the  Academy,  and  in  the  same  year  removed  to  Rome,  where 
she  continued  to  practise  her  Art,  most  industriously. 

There  is,  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Academy,  a  MS.  by 
Angelica,  which  describes  the  pictures  executed  by  her  in  Italy. 
It  is  a  wonderful  monument  of  industry,  and  she  must  also 
have  possessed  great  facility.  Patronage  never  ceased ;  she 
painted  for  kings,  princes,  and  cardinals,  and  quite  realised 
the  conception  of  a  great  artist's  life.  She  died  in  Rome  on 
5th  November  1807,  and  was  buried  in  the  Church  of  S. 
Andrea  delle  Fratte,  with  great  pomp. 

In  a  letter  to  Joseph  Bonomi,  from  a  correspondent  of 
his  at  Rome,  Dr  M.  A.  Borsi,  which  letter  Bonomi  sent  on  to 
West,  to  be  read  at  a  General  Assembly  of  Academicians,  a 
full  account  is  given  of  her  death  and  funeral.  The  ceremony 
was  "  conducted  by  Canova,"  the  church  being  "  decorated  as  is 
customary  for  nobles."  "The  corpse  was  accompanied  to  the 
church  by  two  very  numerous  brotherhoods,  fifty  capuchins 
and  fifty  priests.  The  bier  was  carried  by  some  of  the 
brotherhood,  but  the  four  corners  of  the  pall  by  four  young 
ladies,  properly  dressed  for  the  occasion ;  the  four  tassels 
were  held  by  the  first  four  gentlemen  of  the  Academy  (St 
Luke) ;  these  were  followed  by  the  rest  of  the  Academicians 
and  Virtuosi,  who  carried  in  triumph  two  of  her  pictures." 
The  deceased  artist  is  spoken  of  in  this  letter  as  "the  great 
woman,  the  always  illustrious,  holy  and  most  pious  Mrs 
Angelica  Kauffman." 

All  these  honours,  this  pomp  and  pageantry  clearly  indicate 
that  in  the  eyes  of  the  later  Romans  of  the  eighteenth  century 
Angelica  Kauffman  was  a  very  great  artist  indeed.  We  don't 
think  so,  we  think  something  which  is  very  nearly  the  reverse  of 
that.  An  age  which  looks  upon  certain  modern  developments 
at  home  and  abroad  as  the  ultimate  and  most  perfect  out- 
come of  centuries  of  art,  is  not  likely  to  accept  an  art  which 
has  in  reality  no  foundation  in  nature,  which  is  based  on  a 
convention. 


THE  ART  OF  ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN     95 

That  art  started  with  the  following  proposition :  that,  how- 
ever actions  may  be  supposed  to  have  occurred,  and  whatever 
amount  of  rigidity  or  irregularity  the  actors  may  have  been 
momentarily  forced  into  by  passion  or  excitement,  are  things 
immaterial  to  the  artist.  For  pictorial  represention  it  was  before 
all  things  necessary  to  insist,  that  in  the  events  of  history,  in 
moments  fraught  with  the  fate  of  nations  and  of  men,  the  actors 
always  arranged  themselves  in  circles,  in  two  evenly  balanced 
crowds,  or  else  they  availed  themselves  of  fortuitous  inequalities 
in  the  ground  to  form  a  pyramid,  that  the  principal  actor  con- 
cerned always  occupied  the  middle  place,  that  he  always  stood  in 
a  graceful  and  statuesque  attitude,  that  the  subordinate  char- 
acters who  were  grouped  around  him,  threw  themselves  into 
postures  which  afforded  the  best  opportunity  of  displaying  their 
muscular  development,  and,  in  a  general  way,  however  prepos- 
terous and  absurd  the  whole  scene  might  appear  to  a  casual 
spectator,  it  was  nevertheless  something  very  superior  because  it 
was  ideal.  Angelica  Kauffman  was  a  disciple  of  this  school, 
she  derived  from  its  great  apostle  the  Abb6  Winckelmann  who 
had  founded  her  fortune  by  puffing  her ;  she,  like  Cipriani  and 
others  of  her  age,  imparted  to  her  classical  compositions  some- 
thing of  that  attenuated  grace  and  elegance  which  found  its 
healthiest  expression  in  the  furniture  of  Chippendale.  In  the 
matter  of  colouring  she  adhered  strictly  to  rule ;  the  upper 
members  of  society,  gods,  heroes,  prophets,  etc.,  were  represented 
with  white  skins,  and  the  different  ranks  in  a  descending  scale  were 
discriminated  by  a  nearer  and  nearer  approach  to  the  colour  of 
an  old  portmanteau.  It  is  an  admirably  simple  and  intelligible 
hieroglyph — you  have  a  white  Virgin  and  Child  and  a  brown 
Joseph,  and  a  backwoodsman  though  he  may  not  have  read  or 
have  forgotten  the  story,  will  know  at  once  that  Joseph  is  a  very 
subordinate  character. 

Such  conventionalities  and  makeshifts  were  the  essence  of 
Art  in  the  eighteenth  century,  dignity  was  supposed  to  reside, 
not  in  its  essential  attributes,  but  in  its  trappings.  It  was  con- 


96       FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

sidered  infra  dig.  to  paint  a  lady  in  the  garb  she  always  wore,  a 
conventional  hybrid  garment  was  invented  by  portrait  painters, 
the  "  bed  gown  "  as  the  Duchess  of  Rutland  called  it ;  and  in- 
credible as  it  may  seem  to  us,  who  have  gone  into  the  opposite 
extreme,  when  West  was  designing  his  masterpiece  of  the  death 
of  General  Wolfe,  Reynolds  urged  him  earnestly  and  also  very 
happily  vainly,  to  represent  all  the  characters  in  classical 
garments,  as  more  befitting  the  dignity  of  the  event. 

Of  what  value  is  criticism,  and  who  shall  estimate  the  true 
value  of  Art,  when  he  sees  the  remains  of  Angelica  Kauffman 
followed  to  the  grave  with  almost  regal  honours,  and  not  a 
century  later  a  picture  of  two  ugly  French  peasants  saying  their 
prayers  in  a  ploughed  field,  eagerly  competed  for  and  finally 
purchased  at  the  price  of  a  very  comfortable  fortune  ? 

These  two  events  surely  mark  the  extreme  limit  of  the 
pendulum  in  each  direction  ;  excess  cannot  be  carried  farther, 
and  after  excess  comes  reaction.  Angelica  Kauffman  is  for- 
gotten and  the  art  she  practised  is  now  a  laughing-stock  and  a 
mockery,  but  are  we  perfectly  certain  that  the  gods  we  worship 
are  firmly  enthroned :  is  it  not  natural  and  permissible  in  a 
patient  student  of  Art  history,  to  surmise  that  these  last  shall  in 
their  turn  be  torn  down  and  degraded  to  make  room  for  other 
idols,  who  for  the  time  being  shall  satisfy  the  ever-shifting  phases 
of  ignorance  and  caprice. 

History  is  like  two  mirrors  facing  each  other,  before  us  and 
behind  us  is  the  same  prospect  repeating  itself  ad  infinitum. 

JOHN  INIGO  RICHARDS,  R.A., 

was  chiefly  known  as  a  scene  painter,  and  for  many  years  was 
employed  at  Covent  Garden  Theatre.  He  also  painted  land- 
scapes in  oil,  representing  old  baronial  halls  and  ruins  of  abbeys, 
etc.,  for  which  there  was  a  great  demand  in  his  day.  On  the 
death  of  Newton  in  1788,  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  office  of 
Secretary,  and  held  it  for  twenty-two  years,  till  his  death  on  1 8th 


DOMINIC  SERRES  97 

December  1810.  Besides  making  a  catalogue  of  the  art  treasures 
belonging  to  the  Academy,  he  carefully  repaired  its  famous 
cartoon  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  in  many  ways  showed 
himself  a  zealous  and  capable  officer. 

DOMINIC  SERRES,  R.A., 

born  in  1722,  was  a  native  of  Gascony.  Like  another  celebrated 
painter  of  marine  subjects,  Clarkson  Stanfield,  he  acquired  his 
knowledge  and  his  predilection  for  the  subject  by  serving  before 
the  mast.  He  came,  or  rather  he  was  brought,  to  this  country 
in  1752  with  the  crew  of  a  Spanish  vessel  captured  by  a  British 
frigate.  When  released  from  confinement  in  the  Marshalsea, 
he  applied  himself  to  marine-painting  under  the  tuition  of  a 
certain  Charles  Brooking,  eminent  in  that  line.  He  won  a  name 
for  himself,  and  in  1772  was  appointed  marine-painter  to  the 
king.  His  contributions  to  the  exhibition  of  the  Royal 
Academy  were  very  numerous,  and  consisted  chiefly  of  sea  pieces  ; 
indeed,  the  first  ten  exhibitions  contained  no  less  than  forty 
works  of  his,  all  of  English  naval  battles,  one  of  the  most 
important  being  Lord  Howe's  victory  over  the  combined  French 
and  Spanish  fleets  off  Gibraltar  in  1782.  In  1792  he  succeeded 
Wilson  as  Librarian,  but  died  in  the  following  year,  and  was 
buried  in  Marylebone  churchyard. 

Being  a  sailor,  he  had  naturally  a  competent  knowledge  of 
shipping  and  craft  of  all  descriptions,  and  some  of  his  drawings 
in  pen  and  ink  heightened  with  washes,  which  are  preserved  in 
the  print-room  of  the  British  Museum,  are  executed  with  spirit, 
and  show  great  knowledge  of  effect.  In  his  oil-paintings,  many 
of  which  are  at  Greenwich  Hospital,  he  followed  the  traditions 
of  Van  de  Velde,  who  had  effectually  set  the  type  in  that  depart- 
ment, but  with  less  precision  and  with  none  of  the  Dutchman's 
exquisite  mastery  over  his  materials.  The  pictures  of  Dominic 
Serres  are  pleasing  in  colour  but  rather  thin,  and  wanting  in 
depth  and  atmosphere. 

G 


98       FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 


RICHARD  WILSON,  R.A., 

a  name  well  known  to  lovers  of  British  Art,  was  born  in  1714. 
His  father  was  a  clergyman  in  Montgomeryshire,  and  came  of 
a  good  family.  The  elder  brother  of  the  painter  possessed  a 
small  estate  at  Colomondie,  near  Llanberis,  which  he  was 
obliging  enough  to  vacate  and  to  bequeath  to  Richard  Wilson 
just  in  the  nick  of  time,  when  the  latter  was  in  sore  straits  and 
dependent  only  upon  his  salary  as  Librarian  for  his  sustenance. 

Art  truly  is  a  lottery :  some  there  are  who  draw  great 
prizes ;  genius  of  a  high  order  usually  commands  success,  but 
mediocrity  cunningly  directed  may  achieve  it  also,  and  on  the 
other  hand  genius  of  a  conspicuous  kind  may  fail.  Merit  has 
been  known  to  starve  while  folly  carouses.  We  know  the  stock 
virtues — industry,  preseverence,  enthusiasm,  and  a  certain 
tinge  of  self-consciousness ;  these,  with  some  genius,  are  sup- 
posed to  constitute  the  model  type  of  the  successful  man  ;  but 
experience  teaches  us  that  we  have  to  reckon  with  other  facul- 
ties not  so  easily  defined,  with  a  certain  impalpable  tone,  for 
instance,  which  pervades  a  man,  with  the  quality  of  his 
utterances,  whether  they  be  well-timed  or  the  reverse,  with 
everything  in  fact  which  proceeds  from  him,  with  the  whole 
atmosphere  of  influences  which  surrounds  him.  Great  men  have 
languished  in  neglect,  as  for  example  Ruysdael,  the  greatest  of 
Dutch  landscape  painters,  Constable,  Muller,  and  even  Turner, 
as  regards  his  greatest  works.  All  these  had  to  bear  the  "  quips 
and  scorns,  which  patient  merit  of  the  unworthy  takes,"  and 
Richard  Wilson  falls  into  the  same  unhappy  category. 

To  assign  Wilson  his  proper  place  amongst  British  land- 
scape painters  is  a  somewhat  hazardous  venture.  He  was 
under  Italian  influence,  as  old  Crome  was  under  Dutch,  and 
as  Gainsborough  was  under  Flemish.  If  we  compare  these 
three  typical  early  landscape  painters  of  the  school  by  the 
standard  of  nature  we  must  begin  by  putting  Gainsborough 


RICHARD  WILSON  IN  ITALY  99 

out  of  court.  He  was  greater  than  either  of  them,  but  the 
qualities  of  his  landscapes  were  purely  technical ;  there  is  no 
single  excellence  which  we  can  point  to  by  which  he  advanced 
the  art  in  the  sense  of  bringing  it  nearer  to  nature ;  his  skies, 
mountains,  trees,  and  meadows  were  merely  plausible  pretexts 
for  the  display  of  his  own  emotions ;  his  landscape  was  in  a 
high  degree  subjective.  Whereas  Wilson  and  Crome,  though 
conventional  in  their  forms  and  the  treatment  of  foreground, 
were  based  upon  nature,  or,  at  least,  on  one  fact  of  nature; 
everything  they  represented  is  seen  through  the  medium  of 
atmosphere,  an  atmosphere  which  is  perhaps  too  uniformly 
hazy  and  palpable,  a  little  difficult  to  breathe,  but  which  is  a 
nearer  approach  to  objective  truth  than  anything  in  Gains- 
borough. 

Wilson  began  his  artistic  career  as  a  portrait  painter, 
having  been  placed  for  instruction  with  one  Thomas  Wright 
who  followed  that  branch  of  the  profession  in  Covent  Garden. 
He  is  said  to  have  achieved  some  success  in  this  line,  but  on 
going  to  Italy  in  1749  he  abandoned  portraits  for  landscape. 
Wilson  spent  six  years  of  his  life  in  Italy,  studying  chiefly 
in  the  district  about  Rome.  Ruskin  considers  that  "its 
amorphous  structure  of  tufa  and  volcanic  debris  covered  with 
a  diseased  and  overgrown  flora,"  was  fatal  to  him ;  by  such 
scenery,  he  says,  "whose  spirit  I  conceive  to  be  especially 
opposed  to  the  natural  tone  of  the  English  mind,  his  originality 
was  entirely  overpowered."  This  may  or  may  not  be.  In 
Wilson's  day  the  natural  tone  of  the  English  mind  had  not 
yet  asserted  itself,  it  had  not  yet  found  its  first  exponent  in 
Turner.  Wilson  brought  back  from  Italy  a  taste  for  what 
Fuseli  somewhere  calls  the  "serenity"  of  Claude,  and  also  an 
affectation  of  classicism,  which  led  him  to  introduce  figures  in 
very  incongruous  positions,  as  the  Apollo  in  the  midst  of 
naturalistic  clouds  in  the  "  Niobe."  This  was  pointed  out  by 
Reynolds  in  his  fourteenth  Discourse,  and  the  impeachment 
must  be  acknowledged  to  hold  good.  But  he  was  a  fine  land- 


100     FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

scape  painter  for  all  that,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  hard  and 
stern  realism  of  the  present  day  it  is  permissible  to  regret  the 
absence  of  the  poetical  atmosphere  which  suffuses  the  landscapes 
of  Richard  Wilson. 

His  life  was  altogether  unhappy ;  when  he  returned  from 
Italy  he  took  a  house  on  the  north  side  of  Covent  Garden,  then 
a  fashionable  quarter,  but  he  changed  his  abode  often,  and  each 
change  indicates  a  stage  on  a  descending  scale  of  prosperity. 
On  the  death  of  Hayman  in  1776  he  was  chosen  to  succeed  him 
as  Librarian,  and  the  emoluments  of  the  post,  though  very  small, 
served  to  keep  him  from  starvation.  His  character  lacked  some 
of  the  elements  of  success,  not  on  the  side  of  genius  but  on  that 
of  other  less  conspicuous  but  equally  necessary  qualities ;  he 
was  morose  and  irritable,  and  would  not  speak  men  fair,  and 
that  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  it.  Whatever  it  may 
have  been,  he  was  sometimes  unable  to  buy  canvas  and  colours, 
and  his  end  would  no  doubt  have  been  miserable  but  for  the 
windfall  we  have  alluded  to,  the  death  of  his  brother  and  his 
succession  to  the  estate  of  Colomondie,  whither  he  retired  as  to 
a  haven  of  rest  after  the  storms  of  life,  and  where  he  died  peace- 
fully in  1782  in  his  sixty-ninth  year. 

In  that  same  year  "  Peter  Pindar  "  (Dr  John  Wolcott),  in  his 
Lyric  Odes  to  the  Royal  Academicians ',  addressed  him  in 
the  following  lines,  which  were  really  prophetic : — 

"  But  honest  Wilson,  never  mind  ; 

Immortal  praises  thou  shalt  find, 
And  for  a  dinner  have  no  cause  to  fear. 

Thou  start'st  at  my  prophetic  rhymes, 

Don't  be  impatient  for  those  times, 
Wait  till  thou  hast  been  dead  a  hundred  year." 

JOSEPH  WILTON,  R.A., 

who  succeeded  Carlini  in  the  Keepership,  in  1790,  appears  to 
have  undertaken  the  duties  of  the  office  as  an  occupation  in  his 
old  age.  Born  in  1722,  the  son  of  a  manufacturer  of  plastic 


JOSEPH  WILTON  ICl 

ornaments  for  ceilings,  he  received  his  first  artistic  education 
abroad,  and  in  1744  gained  the  silver  medal  awarded  by  the 
French  Academy  for  working  in  marble.  In  1747  he  went  to 
Rome,  and  while  there  in  1750  was  presented  by  the  Roman 
Academy  with  the  Jubilee  Gold  Medal  of  Benedict  XIV.  Re- 
turning to  England  in  1758,  he  became  joint  manager  with 
Cipriani  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond's  gallery,  in  Spring  Gardens, 
and  it  was  not  till  some  twelve  years  after  that  he  finally  adopted 
the  profession  of  a  sculptor.  He  had  in  the  meantime  been 
appointed  state-coach  carver  to  the  king,  and  in  that  capacity 
made  the  model  for  George  III.'s  coronation  coach.  He 
executed  many  public  monuments,  of  which  that  to  General 
Wolfe  in  Westminster  Abbey  is  a  good  example,  and  amassed 
a  considerable  fortune.  His  house  was  for  years  a  rendezvous 
for  distinguished  men  of  all  ranks  and  callings,  and  he  seems  to 
have  been  much  beloved  and  esteemed.  An  obituary  notice  of 
him  says,  "  He  was  a  very  respectable  man,  and  if  not  a  leading 
genius  in  the  Arts,  he  possessed  considerable  knowledge  of 
them,  and  had  a  very  correct  taste."  He  succeeded  Wale  as 
Librarian  in  1786,  but  resigned  that  office  on  being  elected 
Keeper,  a  post  which  he  held  till  his  death  in  1803. 

JOHN  BAKER,  R.A., 

born  1736,  painted  in  early  life  heraldic  subjects  and  floral 
decorations  on  coach  panels,  and  subsequently  won  considerable 
distinction  by  the  great  brilliancy  of  his  flower  pieces.  He 
died  in  1771. 

GEORGE  BARRET,  R.A., 

who  was  born  in  Dublin  in  1732,  or,  as  some  accounts  say, 
in  1728,  first  studied  art  at  the  School  of  the  Royal  Dublin 
Society  under  Robert  West.  He  soon  showed  a  talent  for 
landscape,  and  after  gaining  a  premium  of  £50  at  Dublin, 


102     FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

came  in  1761  to  London,  where  he  quickly  made  himself  a 
name  as  a  landscape  painter  both  in  oil  and  water-colour,  and 
obtained  another  premium  of  £50  from  the  Society  of  Arts. 
Landscapes  by  him  are  to  be  found  in  many  country  houses. 
He  died  in  1784. 


CHARLES  CATTON,  R.A., 

born  at  Norwich  in  1728,  was  apprenticed  to  a  coach-panel 
painter  in  London,  and  afterwards  became  a  member  of  the 
St  Martin's  Lane  Academy.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
herald  painter  who  designed  the  supporters  of  coats-of-arms 
with  any  resemblance  to  nature.  Catton  was  appointed  coach 
painter  to  George  III.,  the  painting  of  ornamental  designs  for 
coach-panels  being  then  considered  as  an  art.  His  exhibited 
works  were  chiefly  landscapes.  He  died  in  1798. 


MASON  CHAMBERLIN,  R.A., 

who  began  life  as  a  merchant's  clerk,  became  a  pupil  of  Francis 
Hayman's,  and  subsequently  earned  a  certain  measure  of  success 
as  a  portrait  painter.  His  likeness  of  Dr  William  Hunter,  which 
is  in  the  Diploma  Gallery,  is  a  good  specimen  of  his  skill.  He 
died  in  1787. 

JOHN  GWYNN,  R.A., 

was  the  architect  of  several  mansions  and  bridges,  among  the 
latter  the  well-known  Magdalen  Bridge  at  Oxford.  He  was 
the  author  of  a  work  entitled  London  and  Westminster  Improved, 
published  in  1766,  in  which  he  advocated  several  projects  which 
have  since  been  carried  out,  among  them  the  rebuilding  of 
London  Bridge,  and  the  building  of  a  new  bridge  near  Somerset 
House.  He  died  in  1786. 


NATHANIEL  HONE  103 


NATHANIEL  HONE,  R.A., 

born  at  Dublin  about  1718,  was  more  or  less  of  a  self-made 
artist  who  painted  portraits  with  some  success ;  and  also 
indulged  his  sense  of  humour  in  caricatures  which  were  not 
always  in  good  taste,  and  brought  him  into  trouble  once  or 
twice  with  his  fellow  Academicians.  An  account  of  one  or  two 
such  incidents,  especially  of  his  fracas  with  Angelica  Kauffman, 
has  been  given  in  Chapter  III.  He  died  in  1784. 

JEREMIAH  MEYER,  R.A., 

born  at  Tubingen,  in  Wurtemberg,  in  1735,  was  an  eminent 
miniature  painter.  He  came  to  England  when  fourteen  years 
old,  studied  miniature  painting  under  C.  F.  Zincke,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  St  Martin's  Lane  Academy.  Becoming 
eminent  in  this  art,  he  was  appointed  miniature  painter  to 
Queen  Charlotte,  and  painter  in  enamels  to  George  III.  In 
1775  he  proposed  that  £100  out  of  the  £200  annually  given  in 
charity  should  be  invested  "  to  accumulate,  and  in  time  constitute 
a  Fund,  the  interest  thereof  to  be  paid  in  sums  not  exceeding  £2$ 
per  annum  to  such  Academicians  (or  their  widows)  or  associates 
(if  thought  proper)  as  shall  appear  to  have  no  real  income  of 
their  own  exceeding  £50  per  annum."  He  grounded  his  proposal 
on  the  fact  that  "  daily  experience  teaches  us  this  most  melan- 
choly truth,  that  men  of  the  greatest  talents  oftentimes,  from 
various  causes,  in  old  age  feel  penury  and  want."  And  he 
defended  the  plan  as  liable  to  few  objections  in  any  point  of 
view,  as  all  of  the  Academicians  and  Associates  "in  their  active 
person  of  life  contribute  by  joint  exhibition  of  their  work,  to 
raise  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  and  of  which  they  derive  no 
personal  advantage,"  and  was  "only  calculated  in  process  of 
time,  if  unfortunate  accidents  in  our  body  take  place,  to  render 
perhaps  the  remnant  of  life  more  comfortable."  The  proposal 


104     FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

was  accepted,  but  the  Fund  did  not  come  into  operation  for 
some  years.  It  will  be  again  referred  to  in  a  subsequent 
chapter.  Meyer  died  in  1789. 


PETER  TOMS,  R.A., 

was  the  son  of  an  engraver,  and  a  pupil  of  Hudson.  He  is 
somewhat  unknown  to  fame,  but  had  merit  enough  to  be  nomi- 
nated one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Royal  Academy ; 
and  we  also  read  of  him,  that  in  the  course  of  his  chequered 
career  he  was  appointed  Portcullis  Pursuivant  in  the  Herald's 
College,  a  title  which  is  suggestive  of  the  downward  tendency 
he  exhibited  through  life.  His  work  is  chiefly  known  to  us  by 
what  he  did  for  Reynolds  and  others  in  the  painting  of  draperies 
and  hands.  If  in  a  full-length  by  Sir  Joshua  you  detect  a 
passage  hardly  painted  with  a  rigid,  unelastic  brush,  that  is 
Peter  Toms ;  by  that  sign  you  know  him.  After  the  death  of 
Cotes,  the  last  of  his  employers,  poor  Toms  took  to  drinking, 
and  put  an  end  to  himself  in  1776. 


WILLIAM  TYLER,  R.A., 

though  nominated  as  an  architect,  was  usually  represented  at  the 
exhibitions  by  busts  and  low  reliefs.  He  appears  to  have  been 
the  chief  actor  in  the  revolt  against  Reynolds,  which  ended  in  the 
latter's  temporary  resignation  as  already  described  in  Chapter  III., 
and  his  manners  evidently  in  the  President's  opinion  left  much  to 
be  desired.  He  appears,  however,  to  have  had  a  good  head  for 
figures,  as  he  was  appointed,  with  George  Dance,  in  1795,  to 
examine  into  the  accounts  on  the  resignation  of  the  treasurer- 
ship  by  Chambers,  and  was  subsequently  nominated  a  Trustee, 
and  in  1796  elected  an  Auditor,  both  of  which  offices  were  the 
outcome  of  his  and  Dance's  report.  He  died  in  1801. 


PAUL  SANDBY  105 


RICHARD  YEO,  R.A., 

was  chief  engraver  to  his  Majesty's  Mint ;  his  principal  exhibited 
works  were  medallions.     He  died  in  1779. 


FRANCESCO  ZUCCARELLI,  R.A., 

born  near  Florence  in  1702,  was  a  painter  chiefly  of  landscapes, 
in  which  he  introduced  small  figures  with  considerable  taste. 
He  came  to  England  in  1752,  and  acquired  a  very  good  reputa- 
tion, many  of  his  pictures  being  engraved.  In  1773  ne  returned 
to  Italy,  and  died  in  Florence  in  1789. 

PAUL  SANDBY,  R.A., 

a  younger  brother  of  Thomas  Sandby,  R.A.,  the  architect,  was 
born  at  Nottingham  in  1725.  Employed,  like  his  brother,  in 
the  military  drawing  office  at  the  Tower,  he  was  engaged  as 
draughtsman  to  the  Survey  of  Scotland  undertaken  after  the 
campaign  of  1745-46.  This  employment  he  quitted  in  1752,  and 
went  to  live  with  his  brother  at  Windsor,  of  which  place  and  its 
neighbourhood  he  made  a  very  large  number  of  drawings,  which 
were  engraved  in  aquatint  by  himself.  In  1768  he  was  appointed 
chief  drawing-master  at  the  Royal  Military  Academy,  Woolwich, 
a  position  which  he  resigned  in  1799.  His  death  occurred  in 
1809. 

Paul  Sandby  was  one  of  the  first  artists  to  advocate  the 
formation  of  an  academy,  and  severely  ridiculed  Hogarth's 
opposition  to  it.  He  was  a  very  large  contributor  to  the  early 
exhibitions  that  were  held  in  London,  and  was  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists,  from  which 
however  he  seceded  on  the  foundation  of  the  Academy. 

Sandby's  fame  as  an  artist  rests  on  his  water-colour  drawings  ; 
indeed  he  has  been  called  the  father  of  the  water-colour  school 
in  England ;  but  his  landscapes,  though  carefully  drawn,  are 


106     FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

hardly  more  than  topographical  drawings  tinted  to  imitate 
nature. 

WILLIAM  HOARE,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Eye,  in  Suffolk,  in  1706.  Commencing  his  artistic 
education  under  an  Italian  artist  in  London,  he  afterwards  went 
to  Rome  and  studied  there  for  some  years.  Returning  to 
England  he  settled  at  Bath,  where  he  painted  portraits  and 
historical  pieces,  which  he  exhibited  with  great  constancy  but 
no  great  success.  He  died  in  1792. 

JOHAN    ZOFFANY,   R.A., 

was  a  painter  quite  hors  ligne,  a  fine  colourist  and  a  supreme 
executant,  who  possessed  that  peculiar  incommunicable  quality, 
like  wit  in  conversation,  which  is  able  to  invest  common  things 
with  beauty,  and  to  impart  the  grace  of  intellect  and  imagination 
to  commonplace  objects. 

He  was  a  Bohemian  by  descent,  the  son  of  an  architect,  and 
was  born  according  to  one  authority  in  1735,  at  Frankfort-on- 
the-Maine,  or,  according  to  another  in  1733,  at  Ratisbon.  He 
is  said  to  have  studied  in  Italy  and  to  have  practised  in  Germany, 
at  Coblentz,  and  other  places,  as  a  portrait  and  historical  painter ; 
but  his  early  life,  his  goings  to  and  fro,  are  hidden  in  obscurity, 
from  which  he  emerged  by  one  of  those  sudden  and  unforeseen 
turns  of  the  tide  which  lead  those  to  fortune  who  know  how  to 
avail  themselves  of  them. 

A  picture  by  Benjamin  Wilson  was  exhibited  in  London 
representing  Garrick  and  Mrs  Bellamy  as  Romeo  and  Juliet. 
Garrick  discerned  in  it  an  abler  hand  than  that  of  its  reputed 
author,  and  set  to  work  to  investigate  the  matter.  It  was 
probably  a  clue  supplied  by  Philip  Audinet,  the  engraver,  which 
enabled  him  to  trace  the  picture  to  its  real  author,  an  unknown 
foreigner  named  Johan  Zoffany  or  Zoffanij  (an  adjective 
termination  in  Slavonic  dialects  which  would  make  the  name 


JOHAN  ZOFFANY  107 

Johan  of  Zoffa,  wherever  that  may  be).  It  was  ascertained 
that  this  man  was  in  the  receipt  of  £4.0  a  year  from  Benjamin 
Wilson,  who  was  ignorant  of  drawing,  and  engaged  him  to  paint 
bodies  to  his  faces,  and  that  he  was  kept  strictly  dark.  Wilson 
had  found  him  out  by  observing  some  beautifully  painted 
clock-faces,  which  came  from  the  shop  of  Stephen  Rimbault,  a 
noted  manufacturer  of  musical  timepieces,  known  as  "  twelve- 
tuned  Dutchmen " ;  and  Rimbault  had  taken  him  into  his 
service  at  the  recommendation  of  an  Italian  named  Bellodi,  who 
pricked  the  tunes  for  him,  Zoffany  having  been  starving  in  a 
garret  in  Bellodi's  house.  This  is  the  account  given  to  John 
Thomas  Smith  by  Philip  Audinet,  who  had  served  his  time 
with  Rimbault,  and  it  may,  we  suppose,  be  accepted  as  an 
authentic  chapter  in  the  history  of  one  of  the  greatest  painters 
of  the  last  century. 

David  Garrick,  to  his  great  honour,  did  his  best  to  rescue 
Zoffany  from  obscurity,  by  giving  him  employment  and  making 
him  known  to  Reynolds.  One  of  the  first  pictures  he  painted 
in  his  own  name  was  the  portrait  of  Garrick  as  Abel  Drugger 
in  the  Alchymist,  which  made  his  fame  and  fortune.  In  John 
Thomas  Smith's  Nollekens  and  his  Times,  there  is  a  letter 
written  by  Mary  Moser,  R.A.,  to  Fuseli  in  Rome,  which  con- 
tains the  following  passage  : — 

"  I  suppose  there  has  been  a  million  of  letters  sent  to  Italy 
with  an  account  of  our  exhibition,  so  it  will  be  only  telling  you 
what  you  know  already,  to  say  that  Reynolds  was  like  himself 
in  pictures  which  you  have  seen  ;  Gainsborough  beyond  himself 
in  a  portrait  of  a  gentleman  in  a  Vandyke  habit ;  and  Zoffany 
superior  to  everybody  in  a  portrait  of  Garrick  in  the  character 
of  Abel  Drugger,  with  two  other  figures,  Subtle  and  Face.  Sir 
Joshua  agreed  to  give  an  hundred  guineas  for  the  picture ; 
Lord  Carlisle,  half  an  hour  after,  offered  Reynolds  twenty  to 
part  with  it,  which  the  knight  generously  refused,  resigned  his 
intended  purchase  to  the  lord  and  the  emolument  to  his  brother 
artist  (he  is  a  gentleman)." 


108     FOUNDATION  AND  NOMINATED  MEMBERS 

Here  is  a  transaction  in  every  way  satisfactory ;  it  redounds 
to  the  credit  of  everybody  concerned  in  it ;  to  that  of  Reynolds, 
of  Garrick,  of  Zoffany,  and  indirectly  to  that  of  the  exaggerative 
Mary  Moser  with  her  million  letters ;  her  admiration  was  well 
placed,  and  quite  unstinted  and  devoid  of  envy. 

From  this  time  forward  Zoffany's  position  was  secure.  He 
became  a  successful  portrait  painter,  and  was  especially  noted 
for  his  representation  of  actors  in  character.  Talent  such  as 
his,  though  very  rare  and  very  admirable,  is  a  precarious 
possession  in  the  arts ;  it  does  not  lead  straight  to  the  goal,  to 
the  fountain-head  of  popularity ;  it  does  not  touch  the  heart. 
He  seems  to  have  been  quite  devoid  of  imagination.  Unlike 
his  great  contemporaries,  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough,  who 
transformed  the  object  before  them  into  its  spiritual  prototype, 
who  made  a  strawberry  girl,  or  a  peasant  girl  with  a  pitcher, 
live  with  a  life  which  was  not  their  own,  which  was  true  only  in 
what  is  essential  in  human  lives,  Zoffany  was  tied  down  by  the 
thing  before  him,  and  could  not  project  himself  beyond  it.  He 
was  dependent  on  the  picturesqueness  of  that  object — a 
picturesqueness  which  he  rendered  with  wonderful  felicity  and 
grace,  but  which  remained  picturesqueness ;  and  even  his 
favourite  practice  of  painting  actors  in  character  removed  his 
pictures  still  farther  from  the  illusion  of  being  natural ;  they 
were  the  simulacrum  of  a  simulacrum ;  the  imitation  of  an 
imitation.  His  art  was  exquisite  ;  it  had  the  sparkle  and  crisp- 
ness  of  David  Teniers  with  the  depth  and  richness  of  Adrian 
Brauwer.  But  it  fails  to  appeal  to  any  but  the  connoisseur,  the 
man  who  has  studied  technique  and  can  appreciate  its  excellence, 
and  it  leaves  ordinary  spectators  unmoved. 

The  painter  of  imagination  is  independent  of  his  theme ;  it 
is  the  quality  that  attracts.  Zoffany  must  often  have  been  at  a 
loss,  as  the  theme  was  all  in  all  to  him  ;  and  even  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  so  infinitely  more  picturesque  than  ours,  with 
its  powdered  wigs  and  pigtails,  its  satins  and  embroideries,  its 
cocked  hats  and  ruffles,  the  happy  combination  may  not  always 


ZOFFANY  IN  INDIA  109 

have  presented  itself  to  his  inquiring  gaze.  Things  apparently 
did  not  go  as  smoothly  and  as  prosperously  as  he  wished  them, 
and  we  find  him  restless  and  unsettled.  He  returned  to  Italy 
provided  with  letters  from  the  king,  and  painted  the  picture  of 
the  interior  of  the  Florentine  gallery,  which  is  now  in  the  royal 
collection  at  Windsor.  It  is  a  marvel  of  execution,  the  satin 
coats,  the  gold  frames,  the  furniture,  all  gave  him  an  opportunity 
for  displaying  his  peculiar  excellence  of  touch ;  but  the  subject 
is  an  unfortunate  one ;  the  pictures  within  a  picture  double  the 
sense  of  artifice  and  unreality,  and  the  whole  scene  is  not  more 
real  and  lifelike  than  the  pictures  by  Titian  and  Raphael  which 
are  depicted  in  it.  It  is  like  his  portraits,  which  you  know  to 
be  portraits  of  actors  whom  you  know  to  be  acting. 

With  this  drawback,  the  important  one  of  want  of  imagina- 
tion, ZofTany  was  perhaps  second  to  no  painter  that  ever  lived 
for  the  felicitous  rendering  of  actual  objects  before  him,  for  the 
subdued  richness  and  naturalness  of  his  colouring,  and  for  the 
grace  of  his  drawing  and  the  breadth  of  his  light  and  shade. 

His  trip  to  Italy,  we  must  suppose,  did  not  enrich  him  or 
materially  improve  his  prospects,  and  in  1781  we  find  him 
embarking  for  India.  It  was  a  bold  and  original  venture,  and 
we  are  not  informed  who  or  what  it  was  that  induced  him  to 
risk  it.  He  was  probably  carried  away  by  the  idea  then  pre- 
vailing in  England  that  India  was  a  sort  of  Golconda.  The 
splendour  of  the  Orientals,  their  muslin  garments  encrusted  with 
jewels,  their  silken  turbans,  their  elephants  with  gorgeous  hous- 
ings, all  the  glitter  of  their  arms  and  gewgaws,  exactly  suited 
his  talent,  and  he  painted  many  pictures  there  and  found  patrons. 
In  1796  he  returned  to  England  with  a  competent  fortune  and 
retired  to  Kew,  where  he  continued  to  practise  his  art,  and 
where  he  died  on  i6th  December  1810. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ROYAL    ACADEMICIANS    ELECTED    DURING    THE     PRESIDENCY 
OF  SIR  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS 

THE  third  clause  of  the  "Instrument"  says:— "After  the  first 
institution,  all  vacancies  of  Academicians  shall  be  filled  by 
elections  from  amongst  the  exhibitors  in  the  Royal  Academy." 
It  further  states  that  the  names  of  candidates  are  to  be  put  up 
in  the  Academy  three  months  before  the  day  of  election ;  and 
that  each  candidate,  to  be  duly  elected,  must  have  at  least  thirty 
suffrages  in  his  favour.  But  it  soon  became  apparent  to  those 
who  were  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  infant  society  that  it 
would  be  a  dangerous,  and  for  many  reasons  an  impolitic 
thing,  to  admit  not  only  to  its  privileges,  but  to  a  share  in  its 
government,  persons  of  whose  qualities  both  as  artists  and 
men  they  might  know  little  ;  and  it  was  accordingly  determined 
to  institute  a  sort  of  probationary  class,  which  would  give  the 
opportunity  of  further  testing  those  qualities.  At  the  same  time 
it  was  thought  that  while,  on  the  one  hand,  the  influence  of  the 
Academy  would  be  extended  by  this  increase  in  its  members,  on 
the  other,  by  restricting  the  number  of  orders  in  its  hierarchy  to 
two,  the  distinction  of  belonging  to  it  would  not  be  unduly 
diluted. 

The  question  of  instituting  a  "  new  order  or  rank  of  members 
of  the  Royal  Academy,  who  shall  be  called  Associates  of  the 
Royal  Academy,"  was  first  discussed  by  the  Council  on  I3th 
November  1769,  and  the  resolutions  at  which  they  arrived,  after 


"V; 


INSTITUTION  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  ASSOCIATES     111 

two  or  three  meetings,  were  laid  before  the  General  Assembly 
on  nth  December,  in  the  same  year.  They  were  passed,  and 
immediately  received  the  approbation  of  the  king.  By  them  it 
was  enacted  that  the  Associates  should  be  "  elected  from  amongst 
the  exhibitors,  and  be  entitled  to  every  advantage  enjoyed  by 
the  Royal  Academicians,  excepting  that  of  having  a  voice  in  the 
deliberations  or  any  share  in  the  government  of  the  Academy." 
They  were  to  be  balloted  for  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Academicians,  and  elected  by  a  majority  of  those  balloting. 
Their  number  was  not  to  exceed  twenty,  and  "  no  apprentice, 
nor  any  person  under  the  age  of  twenty  "  was  to  be  admitted. 
Those  exhibitors  who  desired  to  become  Associates  were,  within 
one  month  after  the  close  of  the  exhibition,  to  write  their  names 
on  a  list,  to  be  put  up  in  the  great  room  of  the  Academy,  and 
remain  there  two  months,  when  a  General  Assembly,  of  which 
a  month's  notice  was  to  be  given,  was  to  be  held  for  electing 
Associates.  And  the  vacant  seats  of  Academicians  were  to  be 
filled  from  these  Associates  only,  who  were  to  be  artists  by 
profession,  painters,  sculptors,  or  architects. 

The  form  of  obligation  to  be  signed  by  Associates  is  nearly 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Academicians,  which  has  been  already 
given,  the  difference  being  that  at  the  end  of  the  preamble  are 
added  the  words,  "and  having  empowered  the  President  and 
Academicians  to  elect  a  certain  number  of  Associates";  while  the 
subscribers  are  styled  "  duly  elected  Associates  of  the  said  Royal 
Academy,"  instead  of  "either  original  or  elected  Members  of  the 
said  society."  The  form  of  diploma,  though  the  same  in  design 
as  that  of  the  Academicians,  differs  in  the  wording,  and  runs 
as  follows : — "  His  Majesty  having  been  graciously  pleased  to 
establish  in  this  the  City  of  London  a  society  for  the  purposes 
of  cultivating  and  improving  the  arts  of  painting,  sculpture,  and 
architecture,  under  the  name  and  title  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Arts,  and  under  his  own  immediate  patronage  and  protection ; 
and  His  Majesty  having  thought  fit  to  entrust  the  sole  manage- 
ment and  direction  of  the  said  society,  under  himself,  unto  forty 


112     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

Academicians,  with  a  power  to  elect  a  certain  number  of 
Associates,  we,  therefore,  the  President  and  Academicians  of  the 
said  Royal  Academy,  by  virtue  of  the  said  power,  and  in 
consideration  of  your  skill  in  the  art  of  ...  do,  by  these 
presents,  constitute  and  appoint  you  .  .  .  gentleman,  to  be  one 
of  the  Associates  of  the  Royal  Academy,  thereby  granting  you 
all  the  privileges  thereof,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  laws 
relating  to  the  admission  of  Associates,  made  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Academicians,  and  confirmed  by  His  Majesty's 
sign  manual.  In  consequence  of  this  resolution  you  are  required 
to  sign  the  obligation  in  the  manner  prescribed,  and  the 
secretary  is  hereby  directed  to  insert  your  name  in  the  roll  of 
the  Associates."  As  soon  as  convenient  after  his  election  the 
newly-chosen  Associate  attends  at  a  meeting  of  the  Council, 
and  after  signing  the  roll  of  institution  receives  his  diploma, 
which  bears  the  signatures  of  the  President  and  the  Secretary. 

The  law  limiting  the  number  of  Associates  to  "  not  more  than 
twenty"  remained  unchanged  till  1866,  when  it  was  altered  to 
"  the  number  to  be  indefinite,  with  a  minimum  of  twenty  " ;  but 
this  change  produced  no  practical  result,  no  addition  being  made 
to  the  old  total  till  1 876,  when  it  was  resolved  to  increase  the 
number  to  thirty,  and  make  that  the  minimum. 

It  ought  to  have  been  previously  mentioned  that  before 
resolving  on  this  second  order  from  which  to  fill  up  the  gaps 
in  their  own  numbers,  the  Academicians  had  decided  on 
instituting  a  class  of  Associate-engravers.  This  resolution  was 
no  doubt  taken  to  meet  the  complaints  of  engravers,  urged 
strongly  on  their  behalf  by  Sir  Robert  Strange,  at  their  exclu- 
sion from  the  newly-founded  society  under  the  instrument  of 
foundation.  The  law  creating  the  class  was  made  by  the 
Council  on  iQth  January  1769,  and  confirmed  by  the  General 
Assembly  on  2$th  March  following.  The  number  of  engraver 
Associates  was  not  to  exceed  six,  a  number  which  appears  dis- 
proportionately large  as  compared  with  the  twenty  places  after- 
wards allotted  to  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture ;  but  then 


FIRST  ELECTION  OF  ASSOCIATES  113 

it  must  be  remembered  that  there  was  no  further  promotion  for 
the  engravers.  It  was  not  till  after  long  years  of  agitation  that 
they  succeeded  in  gaining  admission  to  the  upper  rank  ;  the 
first  engraver  admitted  an  Academician  being  Samuel  Cousins, 
whose  election  took  place  in  1855.  The  total  number  of  engraver 
members  was,  however,  at  the  same  time  reduced,  and  now  may 
not  exceed  four,  and  may  consist  of  less,  and  of  this  total  number 
not  more  than  two  may  be  Academicians. 

The  first  election  of  Associate-engravers  took  place  on 
26th  February  1770,  when  three  were  elected,  Thomas  Major, 
S.  F.  Ravenet,  and  P.  C.  Canot;  John  Brown  was  elected  on 
27th  March,  and  Thomas  Chambers  on  27th  August,  in  the  same 
year.  On  this  latter  date,  viz.,  27th  August  1770,  took  place  the 
first  election  of  Associates,  when,  out  of  eighteen  candidates, 
eleven  were  chosen  in  the  following  order : — Edward  Burch, 
Richard  Cosway,  Edmund  Garvey,  William  Pars,  Edward 
Stevens,  George  James,  Elias  Martin,  Antonio  Zucchi,  James 
Wyatt,  John  Bacon,  Michael  Angelo  Rooker.  Of  these  Burch 
was  elected  an  Academician  on  I  ith  February  1771,  in  succession 
to  Cotes  ;  and  Cosway  on  1 5th  March  in  the  same  year.  It  is 
curious  to  note  that  at  this  last  election  Antonio  Zucchi,  who 
afterwards  became  Angelica  Kauffman's  husband,  had  an  equal 
number  of  votes — twelve — with  Cosway,  and  the  latter  was  only 
elected  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  President ;  and  it  is  further 
curious  that  Zucchi  hardly  ever  obtained  a  vote  at  any  subse- 
quent election.  Five  more  Associates  were  elected  on  27th 
August  1771  : — Joseph  Nollekens,  Nicholas  Ball,  Biagio  Rebecca, 
William  Tomkins,  and  William  Peters ;  and  on  2nd  November 
1772,  the  first  list  of  twenty  was  completed  by  the  addition  of 
James  Barry,  Stephen  Elmer,  John  Russell,  and  John  Francis 
Rigaud.  Meantime,  however,  another  Associate  had  been 
rapidly  promoted,  viz.,  Nollekens,  elected  R.A.  on  ist  February 
1772;  while  Barry  had  even  less  time  to  wait,  being  made  an 
Academician  on  pth  February  1773. 

Originally  the  voting  at  elections  was  not  confined  to  the 

H 


114     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

members  who  were  present,  absent  members  being  "  permitted 
to  give  their  suffrages  sealed  up,  and  enclosed  in  a  letter  signed 
with  their  own  hand,  and  directed  to  the  President " ;  but  this 
privilege  of  voting  by  proxy  no  longer  exists,  having  been 
abolished  in  1856. 

The  total  number  of  Associates  elected  during  the  Presi- 
dency of  Reynolds  was  fifty,  of  whom  nine  were  engravers  and 
ineligible  for  the  higher  honour,  which  was  also  not  reached  by 
eighteen  others  ;  twenty-three  only  being  raised  to  the  rank  of 
full  Member.  Of  these  twenty-three,  seventeen  were  painters, 
four  sculptors,  and  two  architects. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  these  elected 
Members. 

EDWARD  BURCH,  R.A., 

was  the  first  elected  Royal  Academician.  He  entered  the 
schools  on  their  establishment  in  1/69,  was  made  an  Associate 
in  1770,  and  raised  to  full  honours  the  following  year.  He  was 
best  known  as  a  sculptor  of  gems,  many  very  beautiful  works  of 
this  kind  being  from  his  hand.  He  succeeded  Serres  as 
Librarian  in  1794,  and  held  the  appointment  till  his  death  in 
1814.  He  appears,  however,  to  have  been  incapacitated  by 
illness  from  attending  to  his  duties  after  a  few  years,  as  we  find 
first  Thomas  Sandby  and  then  Rigaud  acting  as  his  Deputy. 
He  was  also  frequently  in  receipt  of  pecuniary  relief  from  the 
Academy. 

RICHARD  COSWAY,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Tiverton  in  1740.  Like  Reynolds,  he  was  the  son 
of  a  Devonshire  schoolmaster,  and  was  sent  up  to  London  to 
study  Art  under  Hudson.  Allan  Cunningham  and  John 
Thomas  Smith  differ  in  their  account  of  his  early  years ;  they 
both  place  him  at  Shipley's  drawing-school  in  the  Strand,  but 


RICHARD  COSWAY  115 

according  to  the  former  he  went  there  after  a  certain  period  of 
study  under  Hudson,  whereas  the  latter  makes  him  a  waiter  and 
boy-of-all-work  there,  which  account  seems  incompatible  with  his 
family  history.  In  1765  he  gained  a  premium  of  the  Society  of 
Arts.  In  August  1769,  he  was  admitted  a  student  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  and  was,  as  we  have  seen,  elected  an  Associate  the 
year  after,  his  advancement  to  full  Membership  following  in  six 
months'  time. 

His  career  was  in  every  way  a  remarkable  one ;  it  seems  to 
have  been  permitted  to  him  to  set  at  naught  those  wearisome 
maxims  which  prudence  and  experience  are  for  ever  preaching  to 
the  unwilling.  He  kept  up  an  enormous  expenditure  to  the 
latest  days  of  his  life  ;  he  surrounded  himself  with  beautiful  and 
costly  things,  with  jewels  and  precious  stones,  ivory  and  gold, 
marble,  lacquer,  and  porcelain  ;  he  was  seen  in  public  attended 
by  a  black  page,  and  wearing  a  coat  of  mulberry  silk  embroidered 
with  strawberries  ;  he  ate,  he  drank,  he  gambled  and  gave  away 
his  money,  and  yet  seems  to  have  escaped  those  baneful  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune  which  are  the  usual  lot  of  the  thriftless  and 
extravagant. 

The  industry  and  talent  necessary  to  make  head  against 
such  a  strain  must  indeed  have  been  remarkable,  and  it  is  not 
surprising,  therefore,  that  in  the  cabinets  of  collectors,  in  the 
catalogues  of  exhibitions  and  salerooms,  the  name  of  Richard 
Cosway  should  be  repeated  with  such  astounding  frequency ; 
though  in  his  case  it  has  happened,  as  it  happens  in  that 
of  all  original  and  prolific  artists,  that  his  style  has  been 
imitated,  and  his  name  affixed  to  works  which  are  evidently 
spurious. 

In  his  youth  he  drew  in  the  Gallery  of  Antiques,  which, 
as  already  related,  was  opened  to  students  by  the  Duke  of 
Richmond,  under  the  guidance  of  Cipriani,  and  was  popularly 
supposed  to  have  acquired  something  of  the  grace  and  beauty  of 
Grecian  Art ;  and  subsequently  he  painted  pictures  in  oil  of  an 
ambitious  and  poetical  character.  His  oil  portraits  are  said  to 


116     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

have  been  feeble  and  glossy,  and  whatever  his  achievements  in 
that  line  may  have  been,  they  are  now  forgotten.  His  fame 
lives  only  by  his  miniatures. 

The  beautiful  art  of  miniature  painting  may  be  said  to  be 
the  oldest  in  modern  Europe.  In  the  deepest  night  of  the  dark 
ages,  when  Art  appeared  to  be  extinguished,  that  of  illumination, 
which  was  in  all  essential  points  miniature  painting,  shed  a  faint 
and  flickering  ray  which  served  to  keep  the  flame  alive ;  it  per- 
petuated the  memory  of  what  had  gone  before,  and  handed  down 
something  to  the  future.  In  Durham  and  in  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  there  are  two  ancient  volumes  beautifully  illuminated, 
known  respectively  as  the  Lindisfarne  Gospels  and  the  Book  of 
Kells,  the  work  of  Irish  monks  in  the  eighth  century.  The 
Canute  Gospels  and  the  Arundel  and  Cottonian  Psalters  belong 
to  the  school  known  as  Opus  Anglicum,  which  had  its  resting- 
place  at  Winchester  in  the  eleventh  century.  And  although 
there  are,  as  far  as  we  know,  no  extant  examples  of  the  missal 
painting  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  the  true  dark  ages,  the 
beauty  of  the  Opus  Anglicum  of  the  eleventh  proves  that 
tradition  had  been  handed  down,  and  that  the  art  had  not 
perished.  With  the  return  of  enlightenment,  the  production  of 
illuminated  manuscripts,  with  their  accompanying  miniatures, 
became  general.  The  great  Flemish  painters,  Van  Eyck,  Mem- 
ling,  Lucas  Van  Leyden,  and  Mabuse,  lent  their  hands  to  the 
work,  and  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  it  attained  to 
its  greatest  perfection,  as  in  the  "  Roman  de  la  Rose "  in  the 
British  Museum. 

The  miniature  proper,  the  portrait  on  a  small  scale,  dates  in 
this  country  from  Tudor  Ages,  and  in  the  words  which  Shake- 
speare has  put  into  Bassanio's  mouth,  as  he  contemplates 
"  Fair  Portia's  counterfeit  "— 

"  Here  in  her  hairs 

The  painter  plays  the  spider  ;  and  hath  woven 
A  golden  mesh  to  entrap  the  hearts  of  men, 
Faster  than  gnats  in  cobwebs," 


COSWAY  AND  MINIATURE  PAINTING          117 

the  poet  was  in  all  probability  alluding  to  the  miniatures  of  his 
contemporary,  Nicholas  Milliard. 

From  that  day  to  the  time  of  Cosway  the  succession  of 
English  miniaturists  was  unbroken,  through  Isaac  Oliver,  the 
Segars,  Peter  Oliver,  John  Hoskins,  Samuel  Cooper,  Richard 
Gibson,  and  Nathaniel  Hone  ;  and  after  his  day  it  was  continued 
through  Ozias  Humphrey,  Francis  Cotes,  Henry  Edridge,  Alfred 
Chalon,  to  Ross,  Thorburn,  and  Wells,  and  then  the  chain 
snapped,  for  the  time,  at  any  rate.  The  photograph,  the  minia- 
ture by  machinery,  supplanted  the  work  of  men's  brains ;  the 
child  of  imagination  perished,  and  was  succeeded  by  a  sort  of 
Frankenstein  monster  in  human  form  but  without  a  human 
soul.  There  are  signs  indeed  of  a  revival  of  the  old  art,  but  in 
too  many  cases  it  is  of  a  bastard  sort,  the  offspring  of  an 
unholy  alliance  with  the  photographer. 

But  although  the  sequence  of  English  miniaturists  remained 
unbroken  from  Nicholas  Hilliard  to  Richard  Cosway,  his  art 
cannot  strictly  be  said  to  be  a  development  of  what  had  gone 
before.  We  have  stated  in  a  former  article  that  English  Art  had 
no  childhood,  it  did  not  pass  through  the  infant  stages  observ- 
able in  that  of  Italy,  it  sprang  at  once  from  a  highly  organised 
basis,  from  Van  Dyck  and  the  Venetians.  Realism,  with  a 
symbolical  meaning,  is  the  natural  origin  of  the  Art  of  all 
Christian  peoples,  perhaps  of  all  Art;  aesthetic  and  organic 
qualities  are  a  later  development,  the  outcome  of  superior  culture, 
and  that  amount  of  culture  was  attained  in  this  country  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Our  native  artists  of  former  ages,  the  great 
miniaturists  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  were 
pure  realists ;  they  sought  only  the  reality  and  individuality  of 
nature,  and  Cosway  breaks  away  from  them  abruptly.  His 
works  have  the  excellencies  and  the  defects  of  the  age  in  which 
he  lived.  His  characters  have  the  elegance  and  refinement  as 
well  as  the  artificiality  of  a  society  which  had  become  conscious 
of  the  rudeness  of  earlier  manners,  and  was  struggling  to  perfect 
its  own.  The  barbarian  is  strictly  natural,  he  conforms  to  the 


118    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

lower  instincts  of  nature ;  when  he  puts  on  refinement  and 
endeavours  to  conform  only  to  his  higher  instincts,  he  becomes 
artificial.  He  must  pass  through  that  stage  before  he  attains  the 
highest,  and  becomes  both  natural  and  refined ;  and  that  inter- 
mediate stage  is  the  stage  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Cosway 
illustrated  it  in  his  miniatures ;  the  airs  and  graces  of  his  ladies, 
with  their  languishing  eyes  and  open  bosoms,  are  totally  distinct 
from  the  primness,  the  sedateness,  and  self-consciousness  of  the 
earlier  English  ladies  of  Hilliard  and  Oliver;  and  he  never 
attained  to  the  naivett  of  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough,  who  saw 
farther,  and  were  in  advance  of  their  age.  But  he  was  a  great 
artist  nevertheless  :  he  painted  miniatures  without  any  smallness 
of  treatment,  his  touch  was  sprightly  and  never  fatiguing  even  in 
his  most  elaborate  works,  his  drawing  elegant,  and  his  treatment 
of  hair  especially  remarkable.  It  is  impossible  to  think  of  a 
Nicholas  Hilliard  as  anything  but  a  very  minute  object,  whereas 
a  miniature  by  Cosway,  if  you  close  your  eyes,  will  often  convey 
the  impression  of  life-size. 

Cosway  the  artist,  however,  and  Cosway  the  man,  present  a 
very  different  aspect ;  in  the  ordering  of  his  life  and  the  conduct 
of  his  affairs  there  was  a  wildness  and  extravagance  which  are 
very  perplexing  to  a  biographer.  He  had  a  mania  for  keeping 
up  appearances,  for  making  a  great  show,  and  it  embittered  his 
life  to  find  that  people  did  not  always  take  him  at  the  price  of 
his  appearances.  His  foppery  and  affectation  earned  him  the 
nickname  of  the  "  Macaroni  Miniature  Painter  "  ;  much  fun  was 
made  of  him,  and,  as  we  might  expect,  he  did  not  escape  the  dull 
and  coarse  lampoons  of  Peter  Pindar. 

The  great  event  of  his  life,  second  to  the  production  of  his 
miniatures,  was  his  marriage  with  Maria  Hadfield.  Maria 
Hadfield  was  a  lovely  woman,  if  we  may  credit  the  testimony  of 
a  portrait  of  her  by  her  husband.  She  was  very  talented  as  an 
artist  both  in  painting  and  in  music,  and  she  possessed  an 
enthusiastic  soul,  whose  bent  turned  towards  philanthropy  and 
benevolence.  Such  a  woman  with  a  large  family  would  have 


JOSEPH  NOLLEKENS  119 

filled  the  home  of  Richard  Cosway  with  genial  influences,  and 
his  vagaries  would  have  been  subdued  by  the  example  of  her 
earnestness ;  but  unfortunately  for  him  they  had  but  one 
daughter,  who  died  young,  and  the  whole  current  of  Maria's 
being  went  awry ;  she  became  an  invalid ;  she  travelled 
abroad ;  she  tried  to  find  a  vent  for  her  yearnings  and 
sympathies  by  establishing  a  college  for  the  education  of  young 
ladies,  first  at  Lyons  and  then  at  Lodi ;  and  finally  she 
returned  to  her  home  in  Stratford  Place,  which  had  been 
fitted  up  by  her  husband  at  the  most  lavish  expense,  to  nurse 
him  through  a  long  and  mortal  sickness. 

Cosway  in  his  last  years  seems  to  have  been  a  victim  of 
hallucinations ;  he  gravely  related  conversations  he  had  held 
with  Van  Dyck  and  Charles  I.  This  was  possibly  a  malady 
of  the  times ;  William  Blake,  on  his  own  showing,  was  on 
visiting  terms  with  St  Paul,  and  Cosway's  quondam  friend, 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  died  firmly  convinced  that  he  had  led  a 
charge  of  cavalry  at  Waterloo. 

In  July,  1821,  when  Cosway  was  aged  eighty-two,  an  old 
friend,  Miss  Udney,  called  to  take  him  for  an  airing  in  her 
coach  ;  on  the  road  he  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  paralysis  or 
apoplexy,  and  was  brought  home  a  dead  man.  He  is  said 
not  to  have  left  much  wealth  behind  him,  but  we  have 
seen  no  record  of  the  sale  of  all  the  magnificence  of 
Stratford  Place,  which  should  have  realised  a  considerable 
sum.  His  widow  retired  to  Lodi,  where  she  resumed  her 
scheme  of  a  ladies'  college,  and  died  there  some  years 
afterwards. 

JOSEPH  NOLLEKENS,  R.A., 

was  born  in  Dean  Street,  Soho,  in  1737;  his  father  Joseph 
Francis  Nollekens,  or  Nollikins,  as  Walpole  spells  the  name, 
was  a  painter  of  some  repute,  whose  father  had  also  been 
a  painter,  and  both  were  natives  of  Antwerp.  Young  Joseph 


120    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

was  sent  to  Shipley's  drawing  school  in  the  Strand,  and  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  was  apprenticed  to  Scheemakers,  the  sculptor  in 
Vine  Street,  Piccadilly.  In  1759,  ne  gained  a  premium  from  the 
Society  of  Arts,  and  in  the  following  year  went  to  Rome, 
where  he  lived  for  ten  years,  working  diligently  after  his 
fashion ;  his  diligence  lying  in  the  direction  of  learning  rather 
what  was  profitable  than  what  was  honourable  or  instructive; 
and  yet  so  great  was  his  native  talent,  that  when  he  returned 
to  London  in  1769,  he  was  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  most 
eminent  sculptors  of  his  age,  and  succeeded  in  maintaining 
that  reputation  to  his  dying  day.  While  at  Rome  he  had 
done  admirable  busts  of  Garrick  and  Sterne,  and  these  doubt- 
less procured  him  patrons  on  his  return  home.  His  election 
as  an  Associate  took  place  in  1771,  and  he  was  made  an 
Academician  in  the  following  year,  George  III.  soon  after- 
wards sitting  to  him  for  a  bust,  and  also  Dr  Johnson.  Although 
he  occasionally  did  works  of  fancy  they  were  not  very  successful, 
and  it  was  to  his  monumental  sculpture  and  more  especially  to 
his  busts  that  he  owed  his  reputation. 

Soon  after  he  returned  to  England  he  took  a  house  in 
Mortimer  Street,  whither  he  shortly  conducted  his  bride,  Mary, 
daughter  of  that  intrepid  magistrate,  Saunders  Welch,  friend 
of  Mr  Fielding,  who  was  the  terror  of  all  evil-doors  in  and 
about  Lincoln's  Inn  and  Leicester  Fields,  and  who  had  from 
the  roof  of  a  hackney  coach  scaled  the  stronghold  of  a  noted 
highwayman,  dragging  him  out  of  his  bed  and  through  the  first- 
floor  window.  Mary  Welch  was  tall  and  handsome;  she  had 
had  more  education  than  her  husband,  and  could  spell  and 
speak  her  native  language  correctly — an  accomplishment  he 
was  quite  deficient  in ;  but  she  was  equally  apathetic  to  all 
intellectual  topics,  and  had,  moreover,  a  strong  tinge  of  "  cus- 
sedness  "  in  her  nature.  The  annals  of  their  life,  the  economy 
of  their  household,  and  their  intercourse  with  friends,  are  set 
forth  in  an  amusing  book,  entitled  Nollekens  and  his  Times, 
by  John  Thomas  Smith,  for  many  years  keeper  of  the  prints 

: 


SMITH'S  LIFE  OF  NOLLEKENS  121 

and  drawings  in  the  British  Museum,  who  had  been  a  pupil 
or  apprentice  of  the  sculptor. 

This  book  is  not  altogether  agreeable  reading ;  it  brings 
before  us,  in  a  very  lively  way,  all  the  details  of  a  sordid  and 
miserly  household  ;  all  the  shifts  and  subterfuges  which  this 
couple,  so  harmoniously  united  in  avarice,  had  recourse  to  in 
order  to  keep  up  appearances  and  save  outlay ;  and  some 
scenes,  such  as  the  description  of  a  dinner  party  given  by 
them,  are  really  funny ;  but  it  is  written  in  a  bad  literary 
style  and  worse  taste.  Nollekens  never  rises  in  our  estimation  ; 
his  genius,  and  he  had  some,  is  only  hinted  at,  and  not  dis- 
played. Throughout  the  book  he  figures  as  a  little,  ridiculous, 
and  imbecile  miser,  who  had  neither  manners  nor  morals,  who 
had  no  appreciation  of  what  was  great  in  Art,  who  was  utterly 
illiterate,  who  gormandized  when  he  did  not  have  to  pay  for 
his  dinner,  but  was  content  with  offal  when  he  did  ;  who,  at 
Academic  meetings,  pocketed  the  nutmegs  (that,  be  it  remem- 
bered, was  in  the  days  of  punch-drinking) ;  who  sat  in  the 
dark  rather  than  burn  a  candle,  who  never  used  soap,  who 
mended  his  furniture  with  scraps  of  tin  picked  up  on  dust- 
heaps,  and  whose  greatest  delight  was  a  Punch  and  Judy 
show. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  in  the  accuracy  of  this  likeness, 
and  it  is  probable  that  Nollekens  and  his  Times  was  an 
act  of  literary  vengeance  on  the  part  of  a  disappointed  legatee. 
Nollekens  might  certainly  have  bequeathed  more  than  £100 
to  John  Thomas  Smith,  if  the  latter  had  really  served  him  so 
faithfully  as  he  would  have  us  believe.  In  his  youth  he  had 
been  his  model  and  his  studio  servant,  for  sixty  years  he  had 
been  his  companion,  had  borne  with  "his  want  of  decent 
manners,"  and  "  his  natural  stupidity  and  ignorance  in  conversa- 
tion," and  one  hundred  pounds  no  doubt  appeared  to  be  but  a 
miserable  dole  out  of  a  fortune  of  more  than  £200,000  to  reward 
a  man  withal  for  so  much  discomfort  and  boredom. 

Nollekens  died  on  the  23rd  April   1823,  in  his  eighty-sixth 


122     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

year,  and  was  buried  in  Paddington  old  churchyard.  He  had 
known  Garrick,  Reynolds,  and  Dr  Johnson  intimately,  and  when 
his  long  life  closed,  the  history  of  England  and  of  Europe  was 
turned  over  to  a  new  page. 

JAMES  BARRY,  R.A. 

The  life  of  James  Barry  forms  one  of  the  strangest  chapters 
in  Art  history,  a  chapter  on  which  we  should  be  at  a  loss  to 
pronounce  what  feeling  it  most  powerfully  arouses,  whether  it 
be  indignation,  contempt,  or  commiseration. 

Barry  had  talents,  energy,  and  perseverance,  which  he  made 
unavailing  by  inordinate  ambition ;  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of 
one  of  the  wisest  and  the  best  of  men,  whose  advice  he  despised 
and  whom  he  alienated  by  his  ingratitude.  He  had  the  good 
fortune  to  acquire  a  position  which  his  achievements  in  Art 
hardly  entitled  him  to,  which  position  he  forfeited  by  flagrant 
and  intolerable  misconduct ;  and  all  we  can  see  in  him  to 
admire  is,  that  he  had  a  certain  stoic  dignity,  and  bore  his 
sorrows  and  his  hardships  proudly. 

He  was  born  at  Cork  on  nth  October  1741.  His  father 
followed  the  sea,  and  young  James  served  under  him  in  one  or 
two  voyages ;  but  he  early  relinquished  his  father's  calling  for 
that  of  an  artist.  To  be  a  great  painter  was  the  object  he  set 
before  himself  when  quite  a  boy ;  he  followed  it  unswervingly 
through  his  youth,  and  he  fondly,  but  vainly,  imagined  he  had 
attained  it  in  his  manhood.  Some  elements  of  greatness  he 
certainly  did  exhibit,  but  mixed  up  with  an  astounding  fund  of 
obtrusive  unwisdom.  He  had  great  strength  of  will,  energy, 
and  pertinacity  ;  he  had  a  true  perception  of  the  dignity  of  Art ; 
he  saw  that  it  was  not  only  a  mechanical  achievement,  but 
called  also  for  intellectual  culture  ;  he  stored  up  candle-ends  and 
sat  up  whole  nights  to  the  injury  of  his  health ;  but  he  was 
headstrong  and  intractable,  would  listen  to  no  advice,  and  when 
he  got  an  idea  into  his  head  nothing  on  earth  would  drive  it 


JAMES  BARRY  123 

out ;  he  would  have  asserted  it  in  the  face  of  King  Solomon 
himself;  with  the  profoundest  contempt  for  everybody  else's 
opinions,  he  never  in  his  life  was  able  to  form  one  for  himself: 
what  he  called  his  opinions  being  merely  conclusions  based  on 
imagination  and  on  passionate  aspirations. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  painted  a  picture  which 
attracted  the  notice  of  Edmund  Burke,  who  became  from  that 
hour  his  firm  friend,  adviser,  and  patron.  How  miserably  the 
infatuated  painter  made  light  of  such  a  privilege,  wasted  such  a 
splendid  opportunity,  and  abused  so  much  benevolence,  forms 
the  really  instructive  value  of  his  life,  and  invests  it  with  its 
impressiveness.  A  correspondence  sprang  up  between  Burke 
and  Barry  which  continued  almost  to  the  close  of  the  painter's 
life,  and  in  the  changing  tone  of  Burke's  letters,  in  the  cheerful 
communicativeness  with  which  they  started,  the  solemn  admoni- 
tion into  which  they  drifted,  and  the  melancholy  reserve  which 
overspread  them  at  the  last,  we  read  more  plainly  than  in  the 
language  of  facts  how  blindly  and  how  persistently  Barry  trod 
the  downward  path  which  led  to  his  ruin  and  disgrace.  His 
letters  in  return  are  indeed  quite  pitiable.  It  is  hard  to  describe 
their  tone  ;  they  are  the  work  of  an  empty-headed,  self-sufficient 
coxcomb,  who  had  no  perception  of  his  friend's  breadth  of 
vision,  not  the  faintest  inkling  of  the  enormous  amount  of 
tolerance  and  good  nature  which  he  must  have  trespassed  upon 
with  such  an  intellect  as  Burke's.  He  parades  his  narrow  pre- 
judices and  childish  conclusions  with  the  assurance  and  pompous- 
ness  of  a  thinker  who  has  mastered  the  whole  domain  of  human 
thought ;  and  worse  than  that,  the  benefits  he  received,  unheard 
of  before  and  certainly  undeserved,  he  looks  upon  only  as  a 
natural  tribute  to  his  merits. 

Edmund  Burke  brought  Barry  to  London  and  introduced 
him  to  Reynolds,  who  seems  to  have  formed  a  favourable 
opinion  of  his  talents  ;  he  then  sent  him  to  Italy,  and  maintained 
him  there  at  his  own  expense  for  five  years.  This  fact,  taken 
in  connection  with  another  very  notorious  one,  that  the  finances 


124     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

of  the  great  orator  and  philosopher  were  always  in  a  dubious 
condition,  shows  us  how  deep  an  interest  he  took  in  his  young 
countryman,  and  what  confidence  he  had  in  his  future.  In 
return  Barry  nobly  determined  to  do  nothing  whatever  to  earn 
his  own  living;  that  sort  of  thing  was  beneath  him,  he  could 
condescend  to  nothing  but  great  monumental  art,  and  entertain 
no  humbler  aim  than  the  complete  regeneration  of  the  Art  of 
Europe. 

What  his  precise  theory  and  ideal  of  the  art  of  painting  was, 
it  is  impossible  to  determine  from  his  own  frothy,  incoherent 
utterances.  We  may  judge  that  they  were  tolerably  lofty  by 
the  fact  that  he  treated  Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  with  in- 
dulgent toleration  as  bunglers  in  a  good  cause.  He,  probably 
in  a  vague  and  hazy  way,  entertained  the  highest  of  the  high- 
falutin  theories  of  his  day ;  which  mixed  up  painting,  sculpture, 
poetry,  and  rhetoric,  and  argued  from  the  one  to  the  other 
indiscriminately,  as  our  readers  may  see  exemplified  by  reading 
through  Dryden's  Preface  to  Dr  Fresnoy's  Art  of  Painting ; 
and  he  returned  to  London  filled  with  the  modest  and  plausible 
project  of  planting  himself  there  in  the  midst  of  coffee-houses 
and  coteries,  of  ladies  in  hoops,  powder,  and  patches,  of  men  in 
bob-wigs  and  pigtails,  in  perhaps  as  artificial  a  state  of  society 
as  ever  existed,  when  the  Beggars  Opera  was  drawing  hundreds 
nightly,  and  when  Strawberry  Hill  was  supposed  to  be  the 
latest  and  finest  example  of  Gothic  architecture,  then  and  there 
to  inaugurate  a  new  era  in  Art  which  should  eclipse  the  age  of 
Pericles.  To  do  it,  was  obviously  to  court  failure,  and  it  must 
be  confessed  that  in  this  case  failure  was  not  coy ;  she  responded 
to  his  advances  with  an  abandon  and  a  laisser  alter  which  left 
nothing  to  be  desired. 

Barry's  life  in  Italy  had  been  a  constant  series  of  broils 
with  artists,  connoisseurs,  picture-dealers,  and  everybody,  in 
fact,  he  came  in  contact  with,  and  the  letters  Burke  wrote  to 
him,  when  contrasted  with  his  own  vain,  fussy,  fuming  exist- 
ence, seem  like  messages  from  a  higher  world,  as  indeed  they 


BARRY  AND  EDMUND  BURKE  125 

were,  an  inner  world  of  the  mind,  where  all  was  harmony  and 
beauty. 

In  answer  to  a  letter  full  of  abuse  of  virtuosi  and  picture- 
dealers  with  whom  he  was  at  war,  Burke  wrote  the  following 
passage : — 

"You  have  given  a  strong,  and,  I  fancy,  a  very  faithful 
picture  of  the  dealers  in  taste  with  you.  It  is  very  right  that 
you  should  know  and  remark  their  little  arts,  but  as  fraud  will 
intermeddle  in  every  transaction  of  life  where  we  cannot  oppose 
ourselves  to  it  with  effect,  it  is  by  no  means  our  duty  or  our 
interest  to  make  ourselves  uneasy  or  multiply  enemies  on 
account  of  it."  And  again,  "  I  praise  exceedingly  your  resolu- 
tion of  going  on  well  with  those  whose  practices  you  cannot 
altogether  approve,  there  is  no  living  in  this  world  upon  any 
other  terms."  But  to  such  terms,  Barry  never  could  accom- 
modate himself.  What  can  exceed  the  solemnity  of  the  follow- 
ing admonition,  or  the  frivolity  which  could  disregard  it  ? 

"  That  you  had  just  subjects  of  indignation  always  and  of 
anger  often,  I  do  noways  doubt ;  who  can  live  in  the  world 
without  some  trial  of  his  patience  ?  but  believe  me,  my  dear 
Barry,  that  the  arms  with  which  the  ill-dispositions  of  the  world 
are  to  be  combated,  and  the  qualities  by  which  it  is  to  be 
reconciled  to  us,  and  we  reconciled  to  it,  are  moderation,  gentle- 
ness, a  little  indulgence  to  others,  and  a  great  deal  of  distrust  of 
ourselves."  If  space  would  allow  of  it,  we  could  continue 
stringing  his  precious  words  like  jewels  on  a  chaplet,  but  we 
must  forego  the  pleasure  and  be  brief.  Barry  was  quite  incor- 
rigible, and  Burke  foresaw  and  prophesied  his  ultimate  ruin  and 
disgrace.  It  must  have  been  a  sore  grief  and  disappointment 
to  the  good  man,  and  a  sorry  requital  of  all  he  had  done  for 
him. 

Barry,  in  London  and  in  middle  age,  was  the  same  man  as 
Barry  in  Italy  and  in  youth.  Success  of  a  certain  kind  he  did 
achieve.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Royal  Academy  on 
2nd  November,  1772,  and  in  three  months,  on  9th  February,  1773, 


126     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

advanced  to  the  full  rank  of  an  Academician  ;  but  that  was  not 
the  sort  of  success  he  cared  for.  The  world  looked  coldly  on 
his  merits,  and  he  turned  upon  the  world  with  fierce  invectives 
and  rancorous  abuse. 

Allan  Cunningham  is  indulgent ;  he  credits  Barry  with 
genius,  intellect,  and  culture.  He  had  nothing  of  the  sort ;  he 
had  only  sham  genius,  intellect,  and  culture.  Artistic  genius 
works  from  feeling  and  imagination,  Barry  painted  by  receipt ; 
intellect  surveys  the  whole  field  of  vision,  Barry  saw  only  one 
narrow  segment  of  it ;  culture  enlarges  sympathies,  Barry  had 
none  for  any  one  but  himself. 

The  situation  will  be  best  understood  if  we  explain  what  it 
was  he  proposed  to  do,  and  then  what  he  proposed  to  do  it  with. 

He  assumed,  as  a  starting-point,  that  there  was  but  one  form 
of  Art,  all  the  rest  was  fit  only  for  anathema  maranatha.  The 
Greeks  had  come  near  that  art  in  sculpture,  but  in  painting, 
none,  none  whatever.  For  Michael  Angelo,  Raphael,  and 
Titian  he  had  the  supremest  contempt,  though  he  allowed  them 
a  certain  modicum  of  credit  for  having  attempted  it.  That  Art 
he  proposed  to  practise.  He  did  not  expect  the  besotted  idiots 
who  compose  the  world  to  understand  it  at  first,  but  he  expected 
that,  in  the  meantime,  every  facility  should  be  given  him  in  the 
way  of  large  wall  spaces  and  ample  payment ;  that  the  world 
should  look  on  wonderingly  and  admiringly  at  his  performances, 
although  they  understood  them  not,  until  such  time  as  they  be 
educated  up  to  the  point  of  acknowledging  him  as  the  great 
regenerator  of  Art.  So  far  for  Barry's  point  of  view.  From 
our  own,  these  are  the  qualifications  with  which  he  proposed 
to  do  it.  A  very  slender  artistic  endowment,  a  singularly 
limited  intellect,  which  seems  to  have  been  quite  incapable  of 
grasping  more  than  one  side  of  a  question,  and  in  no  single 
instance  we  have  seen,  could  formulate  any  proposition  logically ; 
a  violent  temper  quite  beyond  control,  an  utter  contempt  of  the 
usages  of  society  and  the  feelings  or  opinions  of  others ;  the 
manners  of  a  clown,  and  the  language  of  Billingsgate ;  and,  in 


BARRY  AS  AN  ARTIST  127 

addition,  an  abnormal  sensitiveness  and  an  insane  tendency  to 
suspicion.  The  equation  is  a  simple  one,  and  Barry's  fate  is 
the  mathematical  solution  of  it. 

But  we  must  also  give  him  credit  for  certain  qualities. 
There  was  a  sort  of  Stoic  dignity  in  him ;  he  had  the  courage 
of  his  convictions  and  never  wavered.  He  bore  poverty  proudly, 
and  scorned  to  borrow.  He  resolutely  curled  himself  up  in  his 
tub  like  Diogenes,  and  railed  at  all  the  conquerors  who  chanced 
to  pass.  Few  lives  are  more  full  of  melancholy  interest,  but  we 
must  divest  ourselves  of  the  idea  that  his  was  an  instance  of 
great  gifts  and  a  noble  intellect  gone  astray ;  his  life  was  only 
an  illustration  of  the  truism,  that  you  cannot  produce  great 
results  with  insufficient  means. 

We  have  already  mentioned  Barry's  election  as  an  Associate, 
and  his  rapid  promotion  to  Academical  rank.  The  high  opinion 
entertained  of  his  talents  by  Reynolds  is  shown  by  his  having 
been  chosen  in  1773,  the  year  of  his  election  as  an  R.A.,  as  one 
of  the  artists  to  carry  out  the  offer  made  in  that  year  by  the 
Royal  Academy  to  decorate  St  Paul's  Cathedral  with  a  series 
of  scriptural  subjects.  The  offer  was  rejected,  but  a  proposal 
from  the  Society  of  Arts  in  the  following  year  to  certain 
members  of  the  Academy,  of  whom  Barry  was  one,  to  paint  a 
series  of  pictures  for  the  decoration  of  the  great  hall  of  the 
building  in  the  Adelphi,  though  declined  by  them,  was  sub- 
sequently, in  1777,  taken  up  by  Barry  alone,  who  executed  six 
pictures  designed  to  illustrate  the  theory  that  human  happiness 
is  dependent  upon  human  culture.  Barry  ceased  to  exhibit  at 
the  Academy  as  early  as  1776,  but  his  abstinence  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  caused  by  any  quarrel  with  the  members, 
but  because  the  public  declined  to  admire  his  picture  of "  The 
Death  of  General  Wolfe,"  in  which  all  the  figures  were  repre- 
sented nude.  That  he  continued  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the 
Academy  is  shown  by  his  having  been  elected  Professor  of 
Painting  on  the  resignation  of  Penny  in  1782. 

From  that  moment,  however,  his  troubles  began.     First  of 


128     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

all  he  insulted  the  President,  who  had  been  obliged  to  remon- 
strate with  him  on  the  delay  in  delivering  his  lectures,  he 
having  allowed  two  years  to  elapse  before  commencing  them. 
"  If,"  he  replied  to  Reynolds,  "  I  had  only  in  composing  my 
lectures  to  produce  such  poor  mistaken  stuff  as  your  Discourses, 
I  should  have  my  work  done  and  ready  to  read."  On  another 
occasion  he  brought  forward,  in  the  General  Assembly,  a 
proposition  that  the  votes  of  the  members  should  on  every 
important  matter  be  taken  on  oath,  as  only  in  that  way  could 
they  be  trusted  to  give  an  honest  and  truthful  expression  of 
opinion.  Once  when  he  was  robbed  of  some  money  by  burglars 
he  posted  up  a  placard  to  the  effect  that  the  Academicians  were 
the  thieves.  He  took  every  opportunity,  both  when  Visitor  in 
the  schools  and  as  Professor  of  Painting,  of  abusing  the  members 
of  the  Academy,  and  endeavouring  to  excite  contempt  for  them 
in  the  breasts  of  the  students. 

At  last,  in  1799,  Wilton,  the  Keeper,  wrote  a  formal  letter 
to  the  Council  embodying  all  the  charges  against  Barry,  and 
subsequently,  at  the  request  of  the  Council,  attended  in  person 
and  gave  evidence  in  corroboration  of  these  charges,  as  also  did 
Dance,  Smirke,  Daniell,  and  Farington,  the  latter  further  draw- 
ing attention  to  Barry's  published  Letter  to  the  Dilettanti 
Society,  containing  a  number  of  false  and  derogatory  statements 
about  the  Academy.  It  was  resolved  to  refer  the  matter  to  the 
General  Assembly,  and  a  letter  was  written  to  inform  Barry  of 
the  course  proposed.  The  General  Assembly  was  held  on 
1 9th  March  1799,  Barry  himself  being  present,  when  it  was 
resolved  to  appoint  a  committee  of  eleven  members : — George 
Dance,  James  Wyatt,  Thomas  Banks,  Sir  F.  Bourgeois,  Joseph 
Farington,  Robert  Smirke,  John  Hoppner,  Thomas  Lawrence, 
William  Hamilton,  Richard  Westall,  and  Thomas  Stothard,  to 
investigate  the  charges  and  report.  Barry  having  demanded  a 
copy  of  the  charges,  it  was  refused  him  on  the  ground  "  that  in 
the  present  state  of  the  investigation  a  compliance  with  his 
demand  would  be  premature,"  a  decision  which  seems  open  to 


BARRY'S  QUARREL  WITH  THE  ACADEMY   129 

question.  On  I5th  April  1799,  the  Assembly  met  again  to 
receive  the  report,  Barry  being  present,  and  after  hearing  it 
read  and  disposing  in  the  negative  of  a  motion  by  Copley  that 
"  Mr  Barry  have  sent  to  him  a  copy  of  the  charges  contained  in 
the  report,"  and  another  by  Gilpin  to  postpone  any  decision  on 
the  report,  resolved  by  2 1  Ayes  to  3  Noes,  "  that  James  Barry, 
Esq.,  Professor  of  Painting,  be  removed  from  that  office,"  and 
then  by  19  to  4  to  ballot  "Whether  James  Barry,  Esq.,  be 
suspended  from  all  the  functions  of  an  Academician  or  expelled." 
On  the  ballot  being  taken  there  appeared:  For  Expulsion  13, 
For  Suspension  9.  The  whole  of  the  proceedings  were  then 
laid  before  the  king,  and  on  24th  April  the  President  reported 
that  His  Majesty,  "  after  a  long  and  minute  inspection  "  of  every- 
thing relating  to  the  matter,  had  signified  his  "  approbation  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Council,  of  the  Committee,  and  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Academicians  on  this  occasion,  as 
having  been  agreeable  to  the  spirit  and  intention  of  the  laws  of 
the  Institution,"  and  that  His  Majesty  to  further  show  his  will 
and  approbation  had  struck  his  pen  through  the  name  of  James 
Barry  as  signed  on  the  parchment  containing  the  Obligation, 
and  had  written  on  the  margin,  '*l  have  struck  out  the  adjoin- 
ing name  in  consequence  of  the  opinions  entered  in  the  minutes 
of  the  Council  and  of  the  General  Meeting  which  I  fully  approve. 
George  R."  A  letter  was  then  written  to  Barry  acquainting  him 
with  the  decisions  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  action  of 
the  king.  And  so  ended  a  sorry  business.  Whatever  excuses,  if 
any,  may  be  made  for  Barry,  it  would  be  affectation  to  pretend 
that  he  had  not  gone  out  of  his  way  to  meet  the  fate  which 
ultimately  befell  him. 

His  last  years  were  passed  in  penury,  and  although  an  effort 
was  made  at  the  instance  of  the  Earl  of  Buchan,  and  a  subscription 
amounting  to  £1000  was  raised  to  purchase  him  an  annuity,  he  did 
not  live  to  benefit  by  it,  being  taken  ill  suddenly  and  dying  on 
2 1  st  February  1 806.  He  was  buried  in  the  crypt  of  St  Paul's,  near 
the  graves  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren  and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

I 


130     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 


WILLIAM  PETERS,  R.A. 

The  name  of  William  Peters  is  associated  with  no  definite 
artistic  impressions.  Few  have  seen  his  pictures,  and  fewer  still 
remember  them  ;  but  the  bare  outline  of  his  career,  which  is  all 
that  exists  in  printed  documents,  is  very  suggestive  of  romantic 
interest.  In  reading  it  we  become  conscious  of  a  human  soul, 
possibly  of  a  noble  type  and  with  fine  instincts,  struggling  there 
in  the  dim  distance  of  the  eighteenth  century ;  and  we  ask 
ourselves  vainly,  were  peace  and  clearness  vouchsafed  to  it 
ultimately,  as  the  guerdon  of  its  struggles  and  sufferings. 

Peters  was  born  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  somewhere  in  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  exact  date  is  not  known,  but 
received  his  early  art  education  under  Robert  West  in  Dublin, 
where  his  f-ather  held  a  post  in  the  Customs.  Showing  great 
promise  as  an  artist,  he  was  sent  to  Italy,  where  he  copied 
pictures,  which  were  bought  by  English  noblemen :  he  came 
back,  and  painted  for  Boydell's  "  Shakespeare,"  also  portraits 
in  the  natural  course  of  things.  In  1771  he  was  elected  an 
Associate,  and  in  1777  an  Academician.  That  is  all  very 
intelligible,  very  respectable,  and  also  very  commonplace. 
What  is  unusual  and  romantic  is  that,  in  1784,  we  find  him 
elected  chaplain  to  the  Royal  Academy,  he  having,  in  the 
interval,  abandoned  painting  as  a  profession,  entered  Exeter 
College,  Oxford,  taken  a  degree,  and  been  ordained.  He  had, 
in  fact,  developed  into  a  pluralist,  holding  livings  at  Woolstorp, 
in  Lincolnshire,  and  Knipton,  in  Leicester,  besides  a  chaplaincy 
to  the  Prince  of  Wales.  His  chaplaincy  to  the  Academy  he 
resigned  in  1788,  and  his  Academicianship  in  1790. 

It  is  said  that  this  change  of  front  was  brought  about  by 
the  destitute  condition  in  which  he  one  day  found  Richard 
Wilson,  the  greatest  landscape  painter  of  that  day,  who  refused 
to  accept  a  commission  from  utter  inability  to  procure  canvas 
and  colours.  However  the  change  may  have  been  brought 


WILLIAM  PETERS  131 

about,  once  it  was  effected,  and  the  motley  garb  of  the  artist 
finally  and  definitely  exchanged  for  the  black  stole  of  the  priest, 
we  might  expect  things  to  flow  on  in  the  ordinary  way.  Not  so, 
however,  with  Peters.  In  the  year  1810  or  181 1  we  find  him  in 
dreadful  trouble  and  agony  of  mind,  which  well-nigh  brought  him 
to  his  end.  He  had  continued  practising  his  art,  probably  only 
as  an  amusement,  when  a  certain  sketch,  and  the  incidents  con- 
nected with  it,  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  British  matrons  of 
his  parish.  As  we  gather,  the  storm  was  so  violent  that  he  had  to 
fly  before  it,  taking  refuge  at  Brasted  Place,  in  Kent,  where  he 
lived  his  troubles  down,  supported  and  encouraged  by  a  good 
wife,  who  had,  in  1811,  been  his  partner  for  twenty-one  years, 
and  who  probably  understood  all  about  the  customs  of  studios 
and  thought  nothing  of  them.  There  he  finally  found  rest  and 
peace  in  1814. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ROYAL    ACADEMICIANS    ELECTED    DURING    THE     PRESIDENCY 
OF  SIR  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS — continued 

JOHN  BACON,  R.A., 

though  his  artistic  work  was  not  of  a  high  order,  deserves  notice 
from  the  fact  that  he  probably  executed  more  works  of  sculpture 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  than  any  of 
his  contemporaries.  He  was  born  at  Southampton  in  1740,  and 
began  his  career  as  apprentice  to  a  porcelain  manufacturer. 
From  modelling  and  burning  little  ornamental  figures  to  sculp- 
ture was  a  natural  transition,  and  in  1769  he  entered  the  newly 
established  schools  of  the  Academy,  and  obtained  that  year  the 
first  gold  medal  awarded  for  sculpture  for  a  bas-relief  of  "^Eneas 
escaping  from  Troy."  In  the  following  year  he  was  made  an 
Associate,  and  in  1778  an  Academician.  From  that  time  until 
his  death  in  1799  he  was  incessantly  employed,  chiefly  on  public 
and  private  monuments,  of  which  perhaps  two  of  the  best- 
known  are  those  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham  in  Westminster  Abbey 
and  the  Guildhall. 

JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY,  R.A., 

the  father  of  Lord  Lyndhurst,  was  born  in  Boston,  U.S.,  on 
3rd  July  1737;  and  when  the  great  picture  of  the  "Death  of 
Lord  Chatham,"  which  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery,  had 

132 


JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY  133 

spread  abroad  his  name  and  fame,  and  when  the  American 
colonists  had  declared  themselves  an  independent  nation, 
Copley  was  claimed  by  Washington  and  John  Adams  as  an 
example  of  American  genius;  but  his  father,  John  Copley, 
and  his  mother,  an  Irish  lady,  only  emigrated  a  very  short 
time  before  the  painter's  birth. 

He  was  a  very  illustrious  example  of  that  large  class  of 
artists,  who  spring  up  as  soon  as  Art  instruction  has  become 
systematised  and  regularly  conducted  in  any  country.  We 
may  define  that  class  as  composed  of  men  who  have  no 
peculiar  vocation  towards  Art ;  who  feel  no  imperious  neces- 
sity to  express  themselves  by  forms,  lines,  and  colours ;  who 
in  presence  of  Nature,  are  not  overmastered  by  any  one -peculiar 
set  of  impressions ;  who  are  never  possessed  by  an  artistic 
idea  which  riots  madly  within  them  until  it  finds  its  vent  on 
canvas.  They  are  men  of  intelligence  and  observation,  who, 
by  dint  of  industry,  comparison,  and  analysis,  create  a  style 
of  painting  which  is  their  own — which,  as  in  the  case  of 
Copley,  satisfies  the  understanding,  in  no  wise  offends  the 
strictest  taste,  but  leaves  the  imagination  of  the  spectator 
unmoved.  Copley's  extraordinary  ability  enabled  him  to 
unravel  all  the  complicated  problems  which  present  themselves 
to  the  artist,  just  as  the  same  ability,  when  transmitted  to 
his  son,  enabled  the  latter  to  clear  away  all  the  entanglements 
of  circumstance  and  casuistry  which  beset  a  legal  question. 

Such  art  as  his  is  the  result  of  an  elaborate  education, 
and  accordingly  we  find  that  after  learning  the  use  of  his 
brushes  in  Boston,  where  he  painted  portraits,  he  spent  three 
years  in  Italy  studying  the  various  schools,  and  that  sub- 
sequently he  visited  other  parts  of  the  Continent  for  the  same 
purpose.  In  1775  he  settled  in  London  at  25  George  Street, 
Hanover  Square.  The  following  year  he  was  elected  an  Associ- 
ate, and,  in  1779,  a  ^u^  member  of  the  Royal  Academy.  From 
that  time,  almost  uninterruptedly  until  his  death  in  1815,  his 
brush  was  occupied  with  large  historical  compositions,  or  with 


134    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

portrait  groups,  with  which  he  generally  contrived  to  associate 
some  historical  event,  as  in  the  picture  we  have  already 
mentioned,  and  the  "  Death  of  Major  Pierson,"  also  in  the 
National  Gallery.  This  last  is  probably  his  masterpiece.  It 
would  be  improper  to  apply  to  it  the  epithet  of  great,  but  it 
is,  unquestionably,  a  very  fine  picture.  It  is  thoroughly  and 
elaborately  studied,  the  conception  is  dignified  and  in  keeping 
with  the  importance  of  the  subject,  there  are  no  conspicuous 
faults  or  blemishes,  such  as  are  often  present  in  great  pictures ; 
and  it  may  be  said  that  nowhere,  either  in  conception  or 
realisation,  in  design  or  execution,  in  any  part  or  passage, 
does  it  fall  below  a  very  high  level  of  excellence  and  attain- 
ment. The  picture  at  Buckingham  Palace,  of  the  Royal 
Princesses,  daughters  of  George  III.,  is  also  a  very  pleasing 
specimen  of  his  art. 

Such  an  artist  does  honour  to  a  school,  and  whatever  rival 
claims  between  the  respective  governments  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States  may  yet  remain  for  adjustment,  we 
trust  that  no  ministry  or  minister  will  ever  consent  to  surrender 
our  claim  upon  John  Singleton  Copley  as  an  English  artist. 

PHILIP  JAMES  DE  LOUTHERBOURG,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Strasburg  in  1740,  studied  in  Paris  and  Italy,  and 
came  to  this  country  an  accomplished  artist  in  1771.  English 
Art  was  only  forming  in  those  days,  it  was  still  in  a  plastic  state, 
and  apt  to  receive  impressions.  Van  Dyck  and  Watteau,  the 
Venetians  and  the  Dutch,  had  imprinted  an  indelible  mark  upon 
it ;  the  arts  of  Greece,  of  Tuscany,  and  Rome  had  affected  it  also, 
though  less  deeply,  and  De  Loutherbourg,  though  the  fact  is 
much  overlooked  by  critics,  unmistakably  left  his  impress 
upon  it. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  Garrick's  acting  spread  abroad  the 
appreciation  of  Shakespeare ;  and  while  Garrick  was  acting,  the 
public  nightly  gazed  on  the  art  of  De  Loutherbourg,  who  had 


PHILIP  JAMES  DE  LOUTHERBOURG  135 

painted  the  scenes.  In  the  art  of  the  scene-painter,  of  all  other 
arts,  the  means  appear  least  adequate  to  the  results.  From 
beyond  the  footlights,  by  the  aid  of  strong  illumination,  he  is 
able  to  produce  an  illusion  which  counterfeits  nature,  even  in 
her  dimensions.  Seen  near,  and  by  ordinary  daylight,  his 
pictures  are  coarse,  unintelligible  daubs  ;  they  are  mere  flimsy 
screens,  destined  to  destruction  when  the  play  has  had  its  run, 
and  the  reputation  they  bring  the  artist  is  as  ephemeral  as  their 
existence.  Their  success  depends  upon  certain  qualities,  on 
composition  and  the  opposition  of  light  and  dark ;  qualities 
deemed  essential  in  all  forms  of  pictorial  art,  but  which  are 
often  bartered  away  for  others  more  popularly  understood. 

All  De  Loutherbourg's  scenes  have  perished,  and  we  know 
nothing  of  the  pictures  he  painted  before  his  connection  with 
Drury  Lane ;  but  those  we  do  know  him  by,  such  as  "  Lord 
Howe's  Victory,"  excel  in  the  qualities  which  make  fine  scene- 
painting,  namely,  strong  light  and  shade,  impressive  design,  and 
finely  balanced  composition.  These  qualities  he  imported  and 
engrafted  on  English  landscape  Art.  His  influence  on  Turner, 
for  instance,  seems  obvious  and  unmistakable.  If  we  can  with 
certainty  discern  the  influence  of  Claude  in  the  "  Crossing  the 
Brook,"  and  of  Van  de  Velde  in  the  sea-piece  of  the  Ellesmere 
collection,  we  can  with  equal  certainty  trace  the  influence  of 
De  Loutherbourg  in  the  "  Spithead."  After  having  passed 
through  Turner,  we  recognise  the  same  influence  asserting  itself 
in  the  works  of  Sir  A.  Callcott.  De  Loutherbourg's  painting  is 
deficient  in  surface  qualities,  things  which  do  not  hail  from  the 
banks  of  the  Seine  and  the  Upper  Rhine,  but  his  learned  com- 
position and  fine  light  and  shade  were,  for  all  that,  valuable 
ingredients  absorbed  into  English  Art. 

De  Loutherbourg  was  elected  an  Associate  on  6th  November 
1780,  at  the  same  time  as  Stubbs  ;  and  on  I3th  February,  in  the 
following  year,  they  were  both  raised  to  the  higher  rank,  Stubbs 
on  each  occasion  being  the  first  chosen.  The  latter,  however, 
never  took  up  the  Academicianship. 


136     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

In  1782,  De  Loutherbourg  produced  a  curious  exhibition 
entitled  "  The  Eidophusikon,  or  a  Representation  of  Nature," 
showing  the  changes  of  the  elements  and  their  nature  by  means 
of  highly  illuminated  transparent  gauzes.  Towards  the  end  of 
his  life  he  took  to  being  a  prophet  and  healer  of  diseases.  He 
died  at  Hammersmith  in  1812. 

EDMUND  GARVEY,  R.A., 

was  one  of  the  first  Associates  elected  in  1770,  but  he  did  not 
reach  the  rank  of  R.A.  till  1783,  when  his  election  in  preference 
to  Wright,  of  Derby,  who  came  up  to  the  ballot  with  him,  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  cause  of  Wright's  declining  the  honour 
which  came  to  him  very  soon  afterwards,  and  his  requesting  to 
have  his  name  erased  from  the  list  of  Associates.  He  was  huffed 
that  a  "  painter  of  gentlemen's  seats  "  should  have  been  preferred 
to  him.  Garvey,  however,  was  something  more  than  that,  his 
landscapes  being  possessed  of  considerable  merit  He  died  in 
1813. 

JOHN  FRANCIS  RIGAUD,  R.A., 

born  in  1742,  also  one  of  the  first  twenty  Associates,  the  date  of 
his  election  being  1772,  was  of  French  or  Swiss  origin,  and  painted 
chiefly  historical  subjects.  He  was  one  of  the  artists  chosen  by 
Boydell  to  illustrate  Shakespeare,  and  his  works  have  been  very 
much  engraved.  Leonardo's  Treatise  on  Painting  was  translated 
and  illustrated  by  him.  He  was  elected  R.A.  in  1784,  and  also 
received  many  honours  from  abroad.  In  1810  he  was  appointed 
deputy  librarian,  but  died  the  same  year. 

THOMAS  BANKS,  R.A., 

the  first  eminent  English  sculptor,  was  born  in  Lambeth  in  1753. 
His  father  placed  him  under  Wm.  Kent,  architect,  sculptor,  and 
painter,  who  was  so  remorselessly  satirised  by  Hogarth — and  on 


THOMAS  BANKS  137 

the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Academy  he  became  one  of  its 
students,  carried  away  several  prizes,  including  the  gold  medal 
for  sculpture  in  1770  for  a  bas-relief  of  "The  Rape  of  Proser- 
pine," and  finally  was  awarded  the  travelling  studentship  which 
enabled  him  to  go  to  Rome — where  he  lived  for  seven  years. 

The  works  he  executed  there  and  after  his  return  called  forth 
much  applause  and  some  genuine  appreciation,  but  the  times 
were  not  ripe  for  them.  A  cloud  hung  over  this  land  at  that 
period,  how  caused  it  is  hard  to  say.  The  reign  of  the  Puritans 
in  the  seventeenth  century  was  no  doubt  inimical  to  Art,  but  its 
effects,  if  it  was  indeed  the  cause,  only  showed  themselves  in  the 
next  generation.  Architecture  lived  through  it  all.  As  late  as 
the  reign  of  Anne  every  building  erected  in  this  land,  to  the 
humblest,  the  cottage  and  the  barn,  was  beautified  by  an 
exquisite  sense  of  proportion  ;  and  then  the  dismal  night  of 
churchwardenism  overwhelmed  the  land ;  darkness  set  in  in 
every  department  of  Art,  out  of  which  it  emerged  slowly,  cling- 
ing to  portraiture,  to  the  one  unchanging  and  enduring  fact  of 
human  vanity,  as  its  support. 

And  Banks  was  an  idealist.  He  had  conceived  the  Greek 
synthesis  of  the  human  form  working  for  beauty,  and  the 
English  public  was  not  prepared  to  understand  him.  In  1784, 
the  year  of  his  election  as  an  Associate,  he  went  to  Russia,  of 
all  places  in  the  world,  to  try  his  luck  therein.  The  great  Em- 
press Catherine  received  him  hospitably.  His  statue  of  "  Love 
pursuing  a  Butterfly  "  tickled  her  fancy,  and  she  purchased  it  for 
her  palace  at  Tsarsko  Selo,  and  then  wishing,  perhaps,  to  have 
all  sides  of  her  complex  nature  illustrated,  she  commissioned 
him  to  execute  an  allegorical  representation  of  the  "Armed 
Neutrality."  This  was  too  much  for  Banks,  and  he  fled  back 
precipitately  to  his  native  country,  where,  in  1785,  he  had  been 
elected  a  full  member  of  the  Academy.  He  produced  some  fine 
things,  and  designed  many  he  was  not  encouraged  to  carry  out. 
He  languished  for  want  of  sympathy,  and  we  can  only  infer  from 
the  evidence  of  u  A  Falling  Titan,"  his  diploma  work,  and  of  the 


138     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

bas-relief  of  "Thetis  and  Achilles,"  in  the  National  Gallery, 
that  under  liberal  patronage  the  name  of  Banks  might  have 
become  as  familiar  to  the  world  as  those  of  Thorwaldsen  and 
Canova. 

We  admire  Banks,  and  we  gladly  credit  him  with  virtues 
which  he  omitted,  as  we  think  him  capable  of  them.  It  is 
painful,  therefore,  to  associate  his  name  with  certain  monuments 
in  St  Paul's  which  are  an  outrage  on  common  sense,  and  on 
what  may  be  called  common  taste.  There  is  no  law  in  Art 
which  can  sanction  the  representation  of  a  naval  officer  dying  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Nile  attired,  or  rather  not  attired,  puris 
naturalibus,  and  being  crowned  with  laurels  by  a  lady  carefully 
dressed  in  the  costume  of  the  third  century,  B.C.  The  highest 
function  of  Art  is  to  elevate  the  mind  to  the  perception  of  the 
sublime,  and  none  know  but  those  who  have  tried  that  difficult 
ascent  how  many  snares  there  lie  on  either  side,  how  many 
turnings  there  be  which  mislead  to  the  ridiculous. 

Thomas  Banks  died  in  1805.  As  a  man  he  was  in  every  way 
admirable ;  God-fearing,  earnest,  and  industrious,  a  devoted 
husband  and  father,  kindly,  generous,  and  charitable,  and  there 
was  none  to  say  an  ill  word  of  him. 

JAMES  WYATT,  R.A., 

was  perhaps  the  most  fashionable  architect  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Born  in  1748,  a  native  of  Staffordshire,  he  went  to  Italy 
at  the  early  age  of  fourteen,  and  returning  to  England  six  years 
afterwards,  was,  in  1770,  when  only  twenty-four,  elected  an  Asso- 
ciate. He  had  already  commenced  the  work  which  first  brought 
him  into  notoriety,  the  old  Pantheon  in  Oxford  Street,  and  from 
that  time  till  his  death  he  was  constantly  employed  on  public 
and  private  buildings.  Among  the  former  perhaps  the  best 
known  is  the  Royal  Military  Academy  at  Woolwich,  and  among 
the  latter  Fonthill  Abbey.  He  succeeded  Sir  William  Chambers 
as  Surveyor-General,  and  in  that  capacity  was  employed  at 


JOSEPH  FARINGTON  139 

Windsor  Castle  and  elsewhere.  He  was  elected  R.A.  in  1785, 
and  in  1805  he  rilled  for  a  few  months  the  office  of  President, 
having  been  elected  when  Benjamin  West  resigned  owing  to 
some  temporary  disagreement  with  the  members.  His  election 
never  received  the  approval  of  the  king,  and  he  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  having  any  claim  to  be  enrolled  on  the  list  of 
Presidents  of  the  Royal  Academy.  He  died  from  the  effect  of 
a  carriage  accident  in  1813. 

JOSEPH  FARINGTON,  R.A., 

the  son  of  a  clergyman,  in  Lancashire,  was  born  in  1747,  and 
studied  landscape  painting  under  Richard  Wilson.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  admitted  students  of  the  Academy  in  1769,  and 
became  an  Associate  in  1783,  and  R.A.  in  1785.  His  reputation 
in  the  Academy,  however,  depended  less  upon  his  skill  as  an 
artist,  than  upon  the  zealous  and  active  part  taken  by  him  in 
the  government  of  the  institution,  and  especially  in  the  manage- 
ment of  its  finances ;  in  fact,  so  great  was  his  influence  and 
authority  that  he  was  called  by  some  who  did  not  altogether 
approve  of  him,  "  dictator  of  the  Royal  Academy."  It  was  not, 
however,  until  the  presidency  of  West  that  he  came  so  con- 
spicuously to  the  front.  His  artistic  reputation  rests  chiefly  on 
views  of  the  scenery  of  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland,  which 
were  engraved  by  Byrne  and  others.  He  died  in  1821. 

JOHN  OPIE,  R.A. 

We  think  of  Devon  and  Cornwall  as  remote  from  the  great 
centres  of  thought  and  activity,  and  yet  these  two  fair  counties, 
basking  under  a  more  genial  sun,  and  washed  by  more  tepid 
waves  than  the  rest  of  Britain,  have  produced  more  than  their 
fair  share  of  notable  British  worthies.  Amongst  these  was  John 
Opie,  or  Oppy,  as  he  was  hight  in  St  Agnes,  near  Truro,  his  native 
parish.  Born  in  1761,  he  came  to  London  in  1789,  escorted  by  Dr 


140     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

Wolcott,  not  yet  "  Peter  Pindar,"  was  introduced  to  the  town  by  a 
flourish  from  that  gentleman's  brazen  trumpet,  and  was  received 
with  acclamations.  Out  of  the  remote  west,  from  the  land  of 
rude  fishermen,  and  tin  miners  ruder  still,  there  had  come  a 
native  genius,  a  self-taught  artist.  Every  one  was  struck  with 
amazement,  and  the  "  Cornish  wonder,"  as  Opie  was  called, 
became  the  rage.  The  facts  were  not  exaggerated ;  Opie  had 
had  no  artistic  training,  the  skill  he  showed  had  been  acquired 
by  observation,  and  by  painting  under  no  other  guidance  than 
his  own  innate  taste.  His  father  was  a  carpenter,  and  appar- 
ently fit  for  nothing  better,  but  John,  the  son,  was  of  a  different 
stamp ;  at  ten  he  mastered  Euclid,  and  at  twelve  set  up  a 
school ;  he  saw  some  pictures,  was  possessed  by  the  noble  rage 
of  emulation,  procured  brushes  and  colours,  and  travelled  about 
painting  portraits.  On  one  occasion  he  came  home  in  a  new 
suit,  with  ruffles  to  his  shirt,  and  poured  twenty  guineas  into 
the  maternal  coffer ;  all  which  things  were  noised  abroad,  and 
naturally  attracted  the  attention  of  a  world  which  is  ever  more 
solicitous  to  discover  genius  than  to  encourage  it  when  found. 

Dr  Wolcott,  as  stated  above,  brought  him  to  London,  and  for 
a  time  Opie's  doors  were  besieged  by  eager  sitters.  For  a  brief 
spell  he  became  the  fashion,  and  the  Cornish  wonder,  having 
lasted  his  nine  days,  was  then  neglected.  These  things  have 
happened  before,  and  had  Opie  been  as  the  majority  of  men, 
they  might  never  have  been  recorded.  But  he  was  no  ordinary 
man ;  he  was  strictly  an  extraordinary  man.  He  saw  at  once 
that  Art  had  a  wider  significance  than  the  rendering  of  a  man's 
likeness,  that  its  scope  could  not  be  understood  without  general 
culture,  and  that  the  speech  and  manners  of  a  peasant  were  not 
fitted  to  get  on  in  the  world.  These  defects  he  set  about  to 
remedy.  He  read  deeply,  he  studied  Art  earnestly,  he  observed 
men  and  manners,  and  gradually  he  won  round  to  himself  the 
good  opinion  of  the  discerning. 

How  much  farther  Opie  might  have  got,  had  his  life  been 
prolonged,  is  an  open  question.     Few  artists  have  ever  succeeded 


JOHN  OPIE  141 

in  overcoming  the  deficiency  of  early  training  ;  Claude  Lorraine 
and  Hogarth  are  the  only  striking  instances  which  occur  to  us ; 
and  Opie,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  when  he  came  to  London 
at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  knew  nothing  of  Art  beyond  what 
Jonathan  Richardson  quaintly  calls  "face  painting."  He 
possessed  the  enthusiasm,  the  industry,  and  the  perseverance 
necessary  to  success,  and  he  seems  also  to  have  had  the  artistic 
temperament ;  his  rendering  is  never  deficient  in  vigour,  but  it 
lacks  the  tenderness  and  subtlety  which  are  also  necessary ;  he 
never  mastered  the  use  of  those  difficult  semitones  which  are 
intermediate  between  black  and  white,  and  without  which  a 
picture  is  only  the  scaffolding  of  a  work  of  Art.  Nor  had  he, 
when  he  died,  learnt  to  penetrate  that  domain  of  beauty  in 
which  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough  disported  themselves,  as 
their  own  peculiar  pleasaunce  ;  the  region  of  the  evanescent,  of 
the  lost  and  found,  as  it  is  technically  termed.  It  was  no  doubt 
a  less  difficult  achievement  to  learn  to  think  justly,  and  to 
express  himself  elegantly  and  forcibly,  as  he  has  done  in  lectures 
and  other  writings  ;  less  difficult,  because  that  peculiar  sensitive- 
ness to  impressions  which  Art  requires  is  an  attribute  of  youth ; 
but  he  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  vigour  of  mind  and  energy 
of  character,  and  he  might  have  ultimately  conquered  the  greater 
difficulty  also. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  on  6th  November  1786,  at  the 
same  time  as  Northcote  and  Hodges ;  and  on  I3th  February,  in 
the  following  year,  again  with  the  same  two  artists  as  com- 
panions, to  the  full  membership  of  the  Academy. 

In  1800  Opie  brought  forward  in  the  General  Assembly  a 
proposal  for  erecting  a  monument  to  the  glory  of  the  Navy  of 
Great  Britain,  in  accordance  with  a  plan  which  he  had  set  forth 
in  detail  in  a  letter  to  the  Editor  of  the  True  Briton.  The  plan, 
which  involved  the  erection  of  a  huge  building  to  contain 
pictures  of  naval  battles,  and  portraits  and  statues  of  naval 
heroes,  was  warmly  supported  by  Flaxman,  and  eventually  a 
Committee  was  formed  who  drew  up  a  report  which  was  ordered 


142     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

to  be  presented  in  an  address  to  the  king.  This  report  went 
beyond  the  original  idea  inasmuch  as  it  proposed  the  erection  of 
"  a  Dome  or  Gallery  of  National  Honour  consisting  of  various 
apartments  fitted  to  contain  pictures  representing  our  achieve- 
ments by  sea  and  land,  Navigation,  Commerce,  Colonisation 
and  all  other  distinguished  Native  Excellence,  with  portraits 
and  statues  of  the  most  celebrated  worthies."  All  the  artistic 
and  material  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  carrying  out  of 
such  a  scheme  were  duly  set  forth  in  the  address,  and  it  was 
reckoned  that  this  result  could  be  achieved  by  an  annual 
expenditure  of  ^5000.  But  alas  for  this  magnificent  project, 
nothing  more  seems  to  have  been  heard  of  it. 

On  Fuseli's  retirement  from  the  Professorship  of  Painting  in 
1805,  Opie  was  appointed  to  the  post.  Two  years  later,  on  9th 
April  1807,  ne  died  rather  suddenly  of  a  cerebral  malady,  at  the 
age  of  forty-six,  and  was  buried  in  the  crypt  of  St  Paul's  Cathe- 
dral near  the  grave  of  Reynolds.  Opie  had  had  many  sorrows  to 
bear,  and  not  a  few  anxieties  ;  the  wife  of  his  youth  had  proved 
faithless,  and  he  had  put  her  away ;  friends  had  become 
estranged,  and  patrons  had  deserted  him ;  but  all  things  had 
righted  themselves.  He  had  found  a  second  partner  in  every 
way  worthy  of  him,  and  he  had  attained  to  fame  and  independ- 
ence ;  he  was  happy  at  last ;  life  was  going  as  merrily  as  the 
marriage  bell  which  united  him  to  Amelia  Alderson.  Did  he, 
like  the  fool  in  the  parable,  say  to  himself  that  now  he  would 
enjoy  himself?  We  cannot  tell.  His  soul  was  required  of  him 
in  the  midst  of  well-earned  enjoyment,  and  we  close  the  life  of 
Opie,  which  is  pleasant  and  instructive  reading,  with  a  sigh  of 
regret  that  there  are  no  more  pages  to  turn  over. 

JAMES  NORTHCOTE,  R.A., 

another  celebrated  Devon  man,  was  born  in  Plymouth  in  1746 ; 
he  was  emulous  of  being  an  artist  from  very  early  youth,  though 
his  father  opposed  his  wishes.  To  a  youth  of  eighteen,  a  native 


JAMES  NORTHCOTE  143 

of  Plymouth  and  enamoured  of  Art,  the  name  of  Reynolds  must 
indeed  have  been  awe-inspiring ;  and  when  the  great  painter 
revisited  his  native  country  with  Dr  Johnson  in  1762,  young 
Northcote  pressed  through  the  crowd  to  touch  his  garment,  as 
Hogarth  had  done  in  the  case  of  Pope.  Eventually  he  was  made 
known  to  Reynolds,  and  his  father's  opposition  having  been 
overcome,  was  admitted  into  Sir  Joshua's  house,  with  the  rare 
privilege  of  working  in  his  studio.  There  he  remained  five 
years,  working  at  the  same  time  as  a  student  at  the  Academy, 
and  then  repaired  to  Italy,  and  spent  another  five  years  in  study 
at  what  was  in  those  days  the  recognised  capital  of  Art.  On 
his  return  he  commenced  painting  historical  pieces,  and  was 
employed  by  Alderman  Boydell  to  contribute  to  his  "  Shak- 
speare  Gallery."  The  scheme  of  that  gallery  was  suggested  by 
Fuseli  at  BoydelPs  table,  and  though  it  ultimately  proved 
ruinous  to  its  promoter,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  had  a  powerful 
effect  in  stimulating  the  productions  of  a  more  ambitious  form  of 
Art  than  that  in  general  request.  Like  all  organised  and 
systematic  forms  of  patronage,  it  had  the  effect  of  developing 
what  may  be  called  an  eminent  mediocrity.  Whether  the  world 
is  the  better  for  that  or  not,  is  not  a  subject  we  propose  to  dis- 
cuss here.  The  spectacle  of  energy,  activity,  and  effort  must  be 
stimulating  to  the  world  in  general,  and  to  the  individual  artist 
there  is  no  doubt  that  a  steady  stream  of  patronage  is  unspeak- 
ably grateful.  It  enabled  Northcote,  by  the  exercise  of  penuri- 
ous habits,  only  second  in  comprehensiveness  to  those  of 
Nollekens,  to  accumulate  a  large  fortune,  which  was  of  no  use  to 
him,  and  which  he  bequeathed  to  a  maiden  sister  who  had 
superintended  his  household  arrangements  for  fifty  years. 

Northcote  painted  many  elaborate  historical  compositions, 
which  are  respectable  productions,  though  they  are  not  very 
exciting  to  the  imagination.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1786,  and  a  full  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1787,  sharing 
the  distinction  on  each  occasion  with  Opie ;  and  from  that  time 
until  his  death  in  1831,  he  was  rather  a  prominent  figure  in  that 


144     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

society.  To  have  been  the  pupil  of  Reynolds  no  doubt  gave  him 
considerable  prestige,  in  addition  to  which  he  was  a  lively, 
sarcastic,  and  somewhat  intolerant  little  man,  of  whom  the  silent 
members  were  afraid.  He  was  an  author,  had  been  the  friend 
of  Hazlitt,  and  had  written  lives  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  and  of 
Titian.  His  portrait,  drawn  by  Dance,  would  have  interested 
Fuseli's  friend,  Lavater ;  it  seems  to  us  a  typical  head  for  the 
physiognomist.  There  is  certainly  physical  contraction  in  all 
the  features,  and  the  theorist  who  might  insist  on  its  correspond- 
ence with  the  narrowing  of  the  spiritual  faculties,  would  find  an 
appropriate  example  in  James  Northcote. 

WILLIAM  HODGES,  R.A., 

a  landscape  painter,  was  born  in  London  in  1744.  His  father 
was  a  blacksmith  in  Clare  Market,  Drury  Lane.  He  first 
studied  at  Shipley's  Drawing  School  in  the  Strand,  and  there 
became  a  pupil  of  Richard  Wilson.  In  1772  he  accompanied  as 
draughtsman,  Captain  Cook,  in  his  second  voyage  round  the 
world,  and  his  drawings  were  published  in  the  account  of  the 
expedition.  On  his  return  he  was  employed  by  the  Admiralty 
to  paint  some  pictures,  but  subsequently  went  to  India  and  made 
a  considerable  fortune  there.  It  was  not  till  after  he  came  back 
from  India  in  1784  that  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Academy, 
being  elected  an  Associate  in  1786  and  an  Academician  in 
February  of  the  following  year.  He  died  in  1797. 

JOHN  RUSSELL,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Guildford,  the  son  of  a  bookseller,  in  1744.  He 
became  a  pupil  of  Francis  Cotes,  and  afterwards,  in  1770,  entered 
the  schools  of  the  Royal  Academy.  He  soon  obtained  a  con- 
siderable reputation  as  a  portrait  painter  in  crayons,  and  was 
made  an  Associate  in  1772,  his  election  as  an  Academician, 
however,  not  following  till  1788.  Some  idea  of  the  vogue  his 


JOHN  RUSSELL  145 

portraits  obtained  may  be  gleaned  from  the  fact  that  there  were 
no  less  than  twenty-two  of  them  in  the  Exhibition  of  1790  He 
died  in  1806. 

WILLIAM  HAMILTON,  R.A., 

was  born  in  Chelsea  in  1751,  his  father  being  an  assistant  to 
Robert  Adam  the  architect.  He  became  a  student  of  the 
Academy  in  1769,  but  subsequently  went  to  Italy  with  Antonio 
Zucchi,  and  after  some  years'  residence  in  Rome  returned  to 
England  and  soon  made  himself  a  name  as  a  painter  of  his- 
torical subjects  and  of  portraits,  and  also  as  a  book  illustrator. 
Many  of  his  works  were  engraved.  He  was  elected  an  Associate 
in  1784,  and  an  Academician  in  1789.  His  death  took  place 
rather  suddenly  in  1801. 

HENRY  FUSELI,  R.A., 

though  we  cannot  call  him  a  great  artist,  was  a  great  personality 
in  Art.  It  accorded  with  his  temperament  and  the  turn  of  his 
mind  to  assume  a  prophetic  mission,  to  stand  forward  boldly  in 
a  frivolous  age,  and  to  bear  witness  to  the  highest  sublimities  of 
human  thought ;  and  though  it  fared  with  him  as  it  does  with 
prophets  generally,  and  though  he  had  to  sojourn  in  the  waste 
places  of  the  earth,  his  courage  never  lagged  behind  his  convictions, 
and  he  never  sacrificed  his  principles  to  suit  his  convenience. 

Instances  abound  in  the  history  of  Art  of  men  who  have 
elected  to  play  a  great  part  with  insufficient  endowment,  and 
though  we  may  pity  their  fate,  we  scorn  their  presumption. 
But  in  Henry  Fuseli's  case  we  feel  only  admiration  and  regret ; 
his  endowments  were  so  vast,  and  his  fortitude  so  unshaken,  that 
his  failure,  as  failure  it  was,  excites  our  surprise  and  sets  us  to 
search  for  its  secret  cause.  That  cause  may  be  guessed  from  a 
perusal  of  his  history. 

He  was  born  in  Zurich  in  1741  :  the  family  name  was 
Fuessly,  altered  by  the  subject  of  this  memoir  to  Fuseli.  His 
father  was  a  painter,  but  destined  his  son  for  the  Church,  and  sent 

K 


146     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

him  to  the  University  of  Zurich,  where  he  graduated,  and  was 
ordained  in  1761.  But  the  calling  was  not  to  his  taste;  and 
though  he  was  very  intimate  with  Lavater,  and  travelled  with 
him,  he  did  not  imbibe  any  of  his  friend's  religious  sentimentality. 

Fuseli  was  evidently  a  strong,  restless  nature,  haunted  by  the 
desire  of  some  great  achievement,  and  consumed  by  energy 
which  could  find  no  vent  or  opening.  He  tried  preaching ;  he 
set  up  as  a  reformer  of  abuses ;  he  wrote,  and  he  dabbled  in  Art, 
to  the  extent  of  making  fancy  sketches  and  copying  prints  after 
Michael  Angelo,  but  seems  to  have  had  no  particular  determina- 
tion in  this  latter  direction  till  after  an  interview  he  had  with  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  when  he  visited  London  in  1766,  and  conse- 
quently in  his  twenty-sixth  year.  That  determined  him  to 
devote  himself  to  painting,  and  in  1770  he  set  out  for  Italy,  and 
remained  there  nine  years.  Most  of  his  time  was  spent  in  the 
Sistine  Chapel,  and  he  succeeded  in  imbuing  himself  with  a 
taste  for  the  "  terrible  style,"  and  with  a  desire  to  reproduce  it. 
What  he,  however,  neglected  to  acquire  was  the  technical  accom- 
plishment, and  the  profound  knowledge  even  to  minutest  details 
of  form,  which  make  Michael  Angelo  pre-eminent  amongst 
artists.  In  his  pictures,  in  his  writings  and  utterances,  in  every- 
thing that  came  from  Fuseli,  we  can  trace  the  same  fundamental 
mistake  ;  he  makes  conception  the  sole  criterion  of  Art ;  he  had 
no  other  aim  than  to  make  painting  visible  poetry ;  he  seems  to 
have  denied  that  it  had  its  own  peculiar  laws,  and  that  it 
ministered  to  needs  other  than  those  of  written  poetry. 
Equipped  after  this  fashion,  he  began  his  professional  career  in 
London  in  1779.  The  boldness,  and  even  extravagance,  of  his 
conceptions,  procured  for  him  what  the  French  happily  term  a 
succes  d'estime.  But  it  went  no  farther. 

The  Royal  Academy  elected  him  an  Associate  in  1788,  and 
R.A.  in  1790,  the  latter  election  being  the  cause  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds'  quarrel  with  the  Academy,  of  which  an  account  has 
already  been  given ;  and  in  1799,  on  the  expulsion  of  Barry,  he 
was  appointed  in  his  place  as  Professor  of  Painting.  It  was  in 


HENRY  FUSELI  147 

the  same  year  that  he  started  the  "  Milton  Gallery,"  where  he 
exhibited  forty-seven  pictures  from  the  works  of  the  poet ;  but 
though  he  obtained  many  marks  of  distinction  from  persons  of 
note,  and  some  of  the  Academicians  gave  a  dinner  in  his  honour 
to  celebrate  the  opening  of  the  gallery,  the  public  would  not  be 
drawn ;  the  bolt  had  missed  its  mark.  Still  the  painter  never 
wavered  or  showed  sign  of  doubt,  but  continued  to  his  life's  end 
industriously  producing  after  his  fashion,  though  he  reaped  no 
substantial  success,  at  least  by  the  practice  of  his  art.  That  his 
comrades,  however,  thought  well  of  him,  both  as  a  man  and  an 
artist,  is  shown  by  their  having  elected  him  Keeper  in  1804,  a 
post  he  retained  until  his  death. 

From  the  unanimous  testimony  of  his  contemporaries,  we  can 
discern  that  Fuseli  was  a  very  imposing  figure,  both  physically 
and  intellectually.  He  was  very  handsome ;  his  portrait  by 
Dance,  and  still  more  so  one  by  Harlow,  presents  a  fine  Jove- 
like  head,  which  reminds  one  somewhat  of  Goethe.  The  fair 
sex  was  evidently  not  insensible  to  his  attractions  ;  Mary  Moser 
pined  for  him  in  secret,  and  wrote  gushing  but  ineffectual 
letters  to  him  ;  and  Mary  Wollstonecraft  fell  desperately  in  love 
with  him  when  he  was  fifty.  He  was  highly  accomplished,  was 
master  of  nine  languages,  and,  as  he  tells  us,  when  irritated  by 
professional  troubles,  he  would  find  a  mental  solace  in  swearing 
in  all  of  them.  His  classical  attainments  were  very  considerable  ; 
he  had  read  widely,  had  a  fine  memory  and  ready  wit,  and  was 
quite  untrammelled  by  timidity.  His  imagination,  as  shown 
in  his  pictures,  was  strictly  of  the  Miltonic  type,  but,  unlike 
the  poet,  he  took  no  counsel  of  facts.  In  his  flight  he  left 
mother  earth  behind  him,  and  never  returned  to  her,  not  even, 
as  with  Milton,  in  the  shadowy  semblance  of  a  mirage  at  sea. 
He  remained  suspended  between  hell  and  pandemonium,  and 
his  Satanic  legions  contort  themselves  in  a  murky  atmosphere, 
which  has  nothing  of  our  world  in  it  except  its  bitumen.  He  cut 
clean  away  from  facts,  notably  those  of  anatomy,  a  department  in 
which  his  creative  fancy  found  an  apparently  inexhaustible  field, 


148     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

And  here  we  are  reminded  of  an  anecdote  given  by  Knowles 
and  repeated  by  Cunningham,  to  the  effect  that  Reynolds,  one 
of  the  shrewdest  men  of  his  day,  on  seeing  his  drawings,  ex- 
claimed, "  Were  I  the  author  of  these  drawings,  and  were  offered 
ten  thousand  a  year  not  to  practise  as  an  artist,  I  would  regard 
the  proposal  with  contempt."  Reynolds,  we  may  feel  certain, 
quite  sufficiently  understood  the  value  of  ten  thousand  a  year  ; 
we  must  suppose,  therefore,  if  we  accept  this  anecdote  as  true, 
that  he  over-estimated  Fuseli's  talent  at  least  tenfold ;  he  may 
have  been  misled  by  his  theoretical  craze  for  Michael  Angelo, 
or,  more  probably,  appearances  were  specious  enough  to  deceive 
even  him.  Tacitus  says  of  a  Roman  emperor,  "  Consensu 
omnium  dignus  imperii  nisi  imperasset,"  and  in  like  manner 
the  talents  of  young  Fuseli  may  have  impressed  Reynolds  and 
others  with  the  conviction  that  he  would  become  a  great  painter, 
which  was  only  dispelled  because  he  painted.  As  an  author, 
Fuseli  showed  the  same  audacity  as  he  did  as  a  painter,  but  it  is 
tempered  by  a  more  cultivated  taste.  His  Aphorisms  on  Art, 
published  by  Knowles,  are  very  impressive  for  the  extensive 
culture  they  reveal,  but  as  they  treat  Art  almost  exclusively 
from  the  point  of  view  of  conception,  and  enunciate  principles 
common  to  both  poetry  and  painting,  they  are  not  of  much  use 
to  the  practical  student.  Allan  Cunningham  says  of  him  that 
"  the  sketches  and  drawings  of  Fuseli  were  of  a  higher  order 
than  the  works  of  his  pen  ; "  and  we  have  heard  from  an  earnest 
student  and  critic  of  Art  a  similar  proposition,  but  with  the 
terms  exactly  reversed.  If  the  reputation  of  Fuseli  as  an  artist 
rests  on  the  verdict  of  literary  men,  and  as  a  writer  on  that  of 
artists,  it  must  appear  to  the  reader  that  it  rests  on  shaky 
foundations  ;  and  possibly  it  may  occur  to  him  that  the  entire 
edifice  would  have  fallen  ere  this  had  it  not  been  supported  by 
two  props  instead  of  one.  He  died  in  1825  in  his  eighty-eighth 
year,  and  was  buried  in  St  Paul's  Cathedral,  between  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  and  Opie. 


FRANCIS  WHEATLEY  149 


JOHN  VENN,  R.A., 

shares  with  Burch,  the  sculptor,  the  honour  of  being  the  first 
alumni  of  the  Academy  who  served  their  alma  mater  in  an 
official  position,  the  latter  as  Librarian,  the  former  as  Treasurer. 
Yenn  was  one  of  the  first  admitted  students  in  1769,  was  elected 
Associate  in  1774,  R.A.  in  1791,  and  on  the  death  of  Sir  W. 
Chambers  in  1796,  was  appointed  by  George  III.  to  the 
treasurership,  which  he  held  till  his  resignation  in  1820.  He 
died  in  1821.  Of  his  works  but  little  can  be  said.  He  gained 
the  architectural  gold  medal  in  1771  for  a  design  for  a  "Noble- 
man's Villa,"  and  to  buildings  of  that  description  his  subsequent 
efforts  seem  to  have  been  altogether  confined. 

JOHN  WEBBER,  R.A., 

the  son  of  a  Swiss  sculptor,  was  born  in  London  in  1752.  He 
was  sent  to  Paris  for  the  first  part  of  his  artistic  education,  and 
on  his  return  in  1775  entered  the  schools  of  the  Royal  Academy. 
Soon  afterwards  he  was  appointed  draughtsman  to  Captain 
Cook's  last  expedition  to  the  South  Seas,  from  which  he  returned 
in  1780,  and  after  superintending  for  the  Admiralty  the  engrav- 
ing of  the  prints  from  the  drawings  he  had  made,  he  published 
a  series  of  views  of  the  principal  places  he  had  visited.  His 
drawing  of  the  death  of  Captain  Cook,  which  he  had  witnessed, 
was  engraved  by  Byrne  and  Bartolozzi.  He  was  elected  an 
Associate  in  1785,  and  an  Academician  in  1791.  His  landscapes, 
to  which  class  of  painting  he  confined  himself,  were  always  very 
accurate  in  drawing  and  carefully  finished,  but  somewhat  crude 
in  colour.  He  died  in  1793. 

FRANCIS  WHEATLEY,  R.A., 

was  the  son  of  a  tailor,  and  born  in  London  in  1747.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  admitted  students  of  the  Academy,  but  was  not 


150    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

elected  an  Associate  till  1790;  his  promotion  to  R.A.  rapidly 
following  in  1791.  In  his  early  life  he  was  engaged  in 
decorative  painting,  and  also  in  the  production  of  small  full 
length  portraits,  but  he  subsequently  acquired  a  considerable 
reputation  as  a  painter  of  rural  and  domestic  subjects,  many  of 
which  were  engraved.  He  is  said  to  have  led  a  very  irregular 
life,  and  to  escape  some  of  its  consequences  went  off  to  Dublin 
and  remained  there  for  a  time.  Certain  it  is  that  for  the  last 
few  years  of  his  life  he  was  in  very  distressed  circumstances,  and 
received  frequent  assistance  from  the  Royal  Academy.  He  died 
in  1801. 

OZIAS  HUMPHREY,  R.A. 

Of  the  artists  who  flourished  under  the  presidency  of  Reynolds, 
no  less  than  five  came  like  him  from  the  west  country.  Opie 
from  Cornwall ;  Hayman,  Cosway,  Northcote,  and  Humphrey 
from  Devonshire.  The  last  named  was  born  at  Honiton,  in 
1742  ;  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  came  to  London  to  study 
Art,  subsequently  returning  to  Devonshire,  and  then  learning 
miniature  painting  under  Samuel  Collins  at  Bath.  It  was  as  a 
miniature  painter  that  he  first  made  his  reputation  in  London  on 
his  return  there  in  1764;  but  an  accident  having  rendered  him 
unfit  for  such  delicate  work,  he  turned  to  oil-painting,  spending 
four  years  at  Rome,  from  1773  to  1777,  in  studying  its  principles. 
He  then  came  back  to  London,  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
J779>  Dut  did  not  receive  the  honour  of  full  membership  till 
1791,  the  delay  being  no  doubt  in  great  measure  owing  to  his 
having  gone  to  India  in  1785,  and  being  absent  till  1788.  In 
India  he  painted  the  portraits  of  a  great  number  of  distinguished 
persons,  and  returned  with  a  large  fortune.  He  still,  however, 
continued  to  work,  chiefly  owing  to  his  failing  sight,  in  crayons, 
till  1797,  when  his  eyes  completely  failed  him.  He  died  in  1810. 


CHAPTER  X 

ASSOCIATES     ELECTED     DURING     THE     PRESIDENCY     OF     SIR 
JOSHUA  REYNOLDS  WHO  DID  NOT  BECOME  ACADEMICIANS 

IT  now  remains  to  give  some  account  of  the  twenty-seven 
Associates  elected  during  the  presidency  of  Reynolds,  who  never 
reached  the  rank  of  Academician.  Of  these  nine  were  engravers, 
to  whom  at  that  period  the  higher  honour  was  not  open,  and 
who,  as  has  been  already  stated  in  the  account  given  of  the 
institution  of  the  Associate  Class,  constituted  a  separate  body  of 
six,  and  were  called  by  the  distinguishing  title  of  Associate 
Engravers.  It  may  for  that  reason  be  convenient  to  deal 
with  them  all  at  once  before  proceeding  to  the  others.  The  full 
number  of  six  was  not  completed  till  1783,  only  five  having 
been  elected  in  1770;  and  Ravenet,  one  of  them,  having  died  in 
1774,  the  election  of  Green  in  1775  still  left  the  number  one 
short.  As  will  be  seen,  some  years  often  elapsed  before  a 
vacancy  was  filled. 

THOMAS  MAJOR,  A.E. 

This  eminent  engraver  was  born  in  1720,  and  spent  the 
early  part  of  his  life  in  Paris,  where  he  engraved  several  plates 
after  some  of  the  old  Dutch  masters.  Returning  to  England,  he 
executed  a  number  of  plates  from  pictures  by  contemporary 
artists  and  Old  Masters,  and  in  1770  was  elected  an  Associate 

151 


152      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

Engraver  of  the  Royal  Academy,  being  the  first  to  receive  that 
honour.  He  was  also  for  many  years  seal  engraver  to  the  king. 
He  died  in  1799. 

SIMON  FRANCOIS  RAVENET,  A.E. 

Born  in  Paris  in  1706.  After  gaining  considerable  reputa- 
tion as  an  engraver  in  his  native  country,  he  came  to  England, 
invited,  it  is  said,  by  Hogarth,  about  1750,  and  was  largely 
employed  by  booksellers  and  in  engraving  pictures  by  the  Old 
Masters,  and  also  portraits  by  Reynolds  and  others.  He  was 
elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1770,  and  died  in  1774. 

PIERRE  CHARLES  CANOT,  A.E. 

Also  a  Frenchman,  born  about  1710.  He  came  to  England  in 
1740,  and  engraved  a  large  number  of  landscapes  and  sea-pieces 
by  old  and  modern  masters,  among  them  the  well-known  views 
of  London  Bridge  and  Westminster  Bridge  by  Scott.  He  was 
elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1770,  and  died  in  1777. 

JOHN  BROWNE,  A.E., 

was  born  at  Finchingfield  in  Essex  in  1741.  He  was  the  son  of 
a  Norfolk  clergyman,  and  was  educated  at  Norwich.  When 
fifteen  years  old  he  was  sent  to  London  as  apprentice  to  John 
Tierney,  and  had  William  Woollett  for  a  fellow-pupil.  He  soon 
reached  eminence  in  his  art,  and  an  engraving  of  Salvator  Rosa's 
picture, "  St  John  preaching  in  the  Wilderness,"  exhibited  in  1768, 
brought  him  greatly  into  notice.  Two  years  afterwards  he  was 
elected  an  Associate  Engraver.  His  chief  works  are  landscapes 
after  the  Old  Masters.  He  died  in  1801. 

THOMAS  CHAMBERS,  A.E. 

Born  in  London  about  1724.  He  engraved  several  large 
plates  for  Alderman  Boydell,  and  most  of  the  portraits  in 


VALENTINE  GREEN  153 

Walpole's  Anecdotes  of  Painting.  But  though  at  one  time  he 
had  plenty  of  employment,  and  was  one  of  the  Associate 
Engravers  elected  in  1770,  he  was  not  prosperous,  and  being  in 
distress  for  money,  drowned  himself  in  the  Thames  in  1789. 

VALENTINE  GREEN,  A.E. 

A  very  eminent  engraver,  who  may  be  said  to  have  shared 
with  M'Ardell  and  Earlom  the  credit  of  being  the  most  cele- 
brated exponents  of  reproduction  in  mezzotint  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  He  was  born  at  Halesowen,  near  Birmingham,  in 
1739,  and  was  intended  for  a  lawyer ;  but  after  two  years  in  an 
office  at  Evesham  in  Worcestershire,  he  abandoned  the  law  and 
became  pupil  to  a  line  engraver  in  Worcester.  Thence  in 
1765  he  came  to  London,  and  without  any  instructor  began 
scraping  in  mezzotint,  in  which  style  he  reached  an  excellence 
which  has  seldom  been  attained.  His  two  large  plates  of  West's 
"  Return  of  Regulus  to  Carthage "  and  "  Hannibal  swearing 
Enmity  to  the  Romans,"  were  the  first  of  that  size  and  impor- 
tance that  had  appeared.  Several  of  his  best  prints  are  after 
Reynolds 'and  West,  but  he  also  engraved  many  of  the  works  of 
the  Old  Masters,  among  them  Rubens'  "  Descent  from  the  Cross  " 
at  Antwerp,  and  twenty-two  of  the  pictures  in  the  Diisseldorf 
Gallery,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  reproducing  which  had  been 
given  him  by  the  Duke  of  Bavaria  in  1789  with  the  title  of 
"  Court  Engraver."  Unfortunately,  the  gallery  was  demolished 
during  the  siege  of  the  city  by  the  French  in  1798,  and  Green's 
prints  destroyed.  In  1775  he  was  elected  an  Associate  Engraver 
of  the  Academy.  On  the  foundation  of  the  British  Institution 
in  1805  he  was  appointed  keeper,  and  was  very  instrumental 
in  promoting  its  success.  The  total  number  of  engravings 
executed  by  him  during  the  forty  years  of  his  activity  is  said  to 
be  about  400.  His  death  took  place  in  1813. 


154      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 


FRANCIS  HAWARD,  A.E., 

an  engraver  in  both  mezzotint  and  stipple,  was  born  in  1759. 
He  became  a  student  at  the  Academy  in  1776,  and  was 
elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1783.  His  earlier  works  in 
mezzotint  comprised  portraits  after  Reynolds,  and  fancy  pieces 
by  W.  Hamilton  and  Angelica  Kauffman,  and  among  his 
later  ones  in  stipple  were  "  Mrs  Siddons  as  the  Tragic  Muse," 
"  The  Infant  Academy,"  and  "  Cymon  and  Iphigenia."  He 
died  in  1797. 

JOSEPH  COLLYER,  A.E., 

was  born  in  London  in  1748,  and  after  being  a  pupil  of  Anthony 
Walker,  entered  the  schools  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1771. 
He  was  very  successful  as  a  book  illustrator,  and  by  his 
engravings  after  works  by  Reynolds,  Wheatley,  and  others,  took 
a  high  rank  in  his  profession.  He  was  elected  an  Associate 
Engraver  in  1786,  and  afterwards  became  portrait  engraver  to 
Queen  Charlotte.  He  died  in  1827. 

JAMES  HEATH,  A.E. 

James  Heath  was  a  line  engraver  of  considerable  dis- 
tinction. Born  in  London  in  1757,  he  became  a  pupil 
of  Collyer's  at  an  early  age,  and  no  doubt  derived 
from  that  master's  instruction  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
skill  which  distinguished  his  style.  His  early  works  were 
chiefly  portraits,  but  he  subsequently  took  to  book  illus- 
tration, in  which  he  was  very  successful,  his  rendering  of 
Stothard's  designs  especially  being  considerably  in  advance  of 
anything  hitherto  done  in  that  line,  and  considerably  increasing 
the  reputation  of  both  artists.  He  engraved  some  small  plates 
after  Smirke,  and  also  executed  several  large  plates,  among 
which  perhaps  the  best  known  are  "  The  Death  of  Major 


JAMES  HEATH  155 

Pierson"  after  J.  S.  Copley,  R.A.,  "The  Death  of  Nelson" 
after  B.  West,  P.R.A.,  "General  Washington"  after  Stuart. 
He  was  elected  an  Associate  Engraver  in  1791,  and  was  sub- 
sequently appointed  engraver  to  the  king.  He  died  in  1834. 

We  now  come  to  the  other  Associates  elected  during 
Reynolds'  presidency  who  never  reached  the  higher  honour  of 
Academician.  The  first  of  these  was — 


EDWARD  STEVENS,  A., 

an  architect.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Sir  William  Chambers  and 
a  member  of  the  Incorporated  Society  of  Artists.  He  began 
exhibiting  at  the  Royal  Academy  in  1770,  and  was  elected 
an  Associate  in  the  same  year.  Among  his  drawings  were 
designs  for  the  Royal  Exchange  at  Dublin,  and  for  numerous 
private  mansions.  He  died  at  Rome  in  1775. 


GEORGE  JAMES,  A., 

a  portrait  painter.  He  was  born  in  London,  and  went  at  an 
early  age  to  Rome  to  study  Art,  and  subsequently  practised 
his  profession  in  London  and  at  Bath.  A  member  of  the 
Incorporated  Society  of  Artists,  he  was  elected  an  Associate 
of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1770,  being  the  first  painter  so 
elected,  and  exhibited  there  for  many  years  chiefly  portraits 
but  occasionally  subject  pictures.  He  was,  however,  independent 
of  his  profession,  having  inherited  property,  and  also  married 
a  rich  wife,  and  his  works  were,  as  is  generally  the  case  under 
such  circumstances,  of  no  great  merit.  On  the  other  hand,  Red- 
grave says  of  him  that  he  was  a  bon  vivant,  a  clever  comic 
singer,  and  a  good  mimic.  He  died  in  1795  at  Boulogne, 
where  he  had  gone  to  reside,  from  the  effects  of  imprisonment 
during  the  Reign  of  Terror. 


156      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 


ELIAS  MARTIN,  A., 

was  born  in  Sweden  in  1740.  Thirty  years  after  he  came  to 
England  and  was  admitted  a  student  in  the  Academy  schools.  He 
also  contributed  to  the  Exhibition  in  the  same  year  a  "  View  of 
Westminster  Bridge,  with  the  King  of  Denmark's  Procession." 
He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1770,  and  continued  exhibiting  a 
variety  of  pictures,  portraits,  subjects,  and  landscapes  in  both  oil 
and  water-colours.  In  1780  he  returned  to  Denmark  and  ceased 
exhibiting,  but  appears  to  have  come  back  to  England,  as  in 
1790  his  name,  with  an  address  at  Bath,  appears  in  the  catalogue 
attached  to  eight  works.  After  that  nothing  was  heard  of  him. 
His  name  continued  to  be  included  in  the  annual  list  of 
members  till  1832.  Redgrave  says  that  he  died  in  1804. 
Others  give  the  date  as  1818. 


ANTONIO  ZUCCHI,  A., 

was  one  of  the  numerous  foreign  artists  who  in  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  found  more  scope  for  their  talents  in 
England  than  in  their  own  country.  Born  at  Venice  in  1726,  he 
followed  the  example  of  his  father  Francesco  and  his  grand- 
father Andrea  in  becoming  an  artist,  studying  especially  archi- 
tectural drawing  and  perspective.  The  brothers  Adam,  the 
architects,  when  travelling  in  Italy,  made  his  acquaintance  and 
persuaded  him  to  come  to  England,  where  he  decorated  many 
of  their  finest  buildings.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1770, 
but  his  name  only  appears  on  three  or  four  occasions  as  an 
exhibitor.  The  subjects  both  for  his  pictures  and  his  decora- 
tions were  taken  from  poetry  and  mythology  with  ruined 
temples  and  classical  buildings.  His  chief  title  to  fame  is  that 
he  married  Angelica  Kauffman  in  1781,  but  the  marriage  was 
not  a  success.  He  died  at  Rome  in  1795. 


WILLIAM  PARS  157 


MICHAEL  ANGELO  ROOKER,  A., 

was  the  son  of  Edward  Rooker,  who  had  a  considerable  repu- 
tation as  an  engraver  of  architectural  views,  and  also  pos- 
sessed another  talent,  being  deemed  the  best  harlequin  of  his 
time,  and  often  appearing  in  that  character  at  Drury  Lane 
Theatre.  Michael  Angelo  was  born  in  London  in  1743.  He 
was  first  instructed  by  his  father  in  the  art  of  engraving,  and 
subsequently  studied  at  the  St  Martin's  Lane  Academy,  as  well 
as  receiving  lessons  from  Paul  Sandby  in  landscape  painting- 
In  1769  he  entered  the  schools  of  the  Academy,  and  was  elected 
an  Associate  in  1770.  His  contributions  to  the  Exhibition  were 
chiefly  water-colour  views  of  great  delicacy  and  finish,  in  which 
the  figures  and  animals  are  well  introduced.  He  is  perhaps 
best  known  by  the  views  of  the  Colleges  at  Oxford,  which  he 
drew  and  engraved  for  many  years  as  headings  to  the  Oxford 
Almanac.  At  one  time  he  was  principal  scene  painter  to  the 
Haymarket  Theatre.  His  death  took  place  in  1801. 

WILLIAM  PARS,  A., 

born  in  London  in  1742,  received  his  first  instruction  in  art  at 
Shipley's  drawing  school  in  the  Strand,  going  thence  to  the  St 
Martin's  Lane  Academy,  and  becoming  a  student  at  the  Royal 
Academy  on  its  opening  in  1769.  He  had  previously,  in  1764, 
been  attached  by  the  Dilettanti  Society  as  draughtsman  to  the 
expedition  sent  by  it  to  make  researches  among  the  antiquities 
in  Ionia ;  and  on  his  return  accompanied  the  second  Lord 
Palmerston  on  a  tour  through  Italy  and  Switzerland,  making 
many  drawings,  several  of  which  were  reproduced  in  aquatint  by 
Paul  Sandby.  In  1770  he  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the 
Royal  Academy;  and  in  1774  was  selected  by  the  Dilettanti 
Society  as  the  recipient  of  the  studentship  which  they  had 
resolved  to  bestow  on  some  artist  to  enable  him  to  complete  his 


158      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

studies  at  Rome.  Pars  went  to  Rome  in  1775,  and  remained 
there  till  he  died  in  1782.  The  works  he  exhibited  at  the 
Academy  consisted  chiefly  of  portraits,  most  of  them  small  whole 
lengths,  and  drawings  of  ruined  temples  in  Greece  and  Asia 
Minor. 

NICHOLAS  THOMAS  BALL,  A., 

another  foreigner  who  found  his  artistic  haven  in  England.  He 
was  a  native  of  Denmark,  settling  in  London  about  1760.  In 
1768  he  obtained  the  first  premium  of  the  Society  of  Arts  for 
landscape  painting,  and  in  1771  was  elected  an  Associate.  His 
chief  occupation  was  as  scene  painter  at  Covent  Garden 
Theatre,  but  he  contributed  several  landscapes  to  the  Academy 
Exhibitions,  chiefly  views  of  Yorkshire.  He  died  in  1777. 

BIAGIO  REBECCA,  A., 

of  Italian  extraction  certainly,  but  where  born  in  1735  is  not 
known.  He  entered  the  Academy  Schools  in  1769,  and  was 
elected  an  Associate  in  1771,  in  which  year  he  exhibited  a 
picture  of  "  Hagar  and  Ishmael,"  and  in  the  next  year  "  A 
Sacrifice  to  Minerva."  He  then  ceased  to  exhibit  for  many 
years,  being  chiefly  employed  in  the  ornamentation  of  stair- 
cases and  ceilings.  Some  of  the  rooms  of  the  Academy  at 
Somerset  House  were  decorated  by  him,  and  he  was  also  em- 
ployed at  Windsor  Castle.  He  died  in  1808. 

WILLIAM  TOMKINS,  A., 

born  in  London  about  1730.  He  obtained  a  landscape  premium 
from  the  Society  of  Arts  in  1763,  and  was  elected  an  Associate 
in  1771.  His  contributions  to  the  Academy  Exhibitions,  which 
began  in  1769  and  continued  every  year  until  his  death,  consisted 
chiefly  of  landscapes  with  birds  and  dead  game.  He  also  painted 
views  of  noblemen's  and  gentlemen's  seats,  some  of  which  are 


EDWARD  EDWARDS  159 

engraved,  besides  making  copies  after  Claude,  Hobbema,  and 
other  Dutch  masters.     He  died  in  1792. 


STEPHEN  ELMER,  A. 

The  date  of  this  artist's  birth  is  not  known,  but  his  name  is 
included  in  the  list  of  members  of  the  Free  Society  of  Artists  in 
1763.  He  first  contributed  to  the  Academy  Exhibition  in  1772, 
when  he  sent  nine  pictures,  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in  the 
same  year.  From  that  time  his  name  is  found  in  the  catalogue 
every  year  till  his  death.  His  subjects  were  dead  game  and 
still  life,  which  he  painted  with  great  truth  to  nature,  and  in  a 
bold  and  spirited  style.  Three  years  after  his  death,  which  took 
place  in  1796  at  Farnham,  where  he  had  lived  all  his  life 
and  followed  the  occupation  of  a  maltster,  an  exhibition  of 
his  works  was  made  by  his  nephew  for  sale  at  the  great  room 
of  the  Haymarket.  This  exhibition,  which  was  called  "  Elmer's 
Sporting  Exhibition,"  contained  148  works,  many  of  which 
realised  very  good  prices.  Many  of  the  unsold  ones  were  des- 
troyed by  fire  in  1801. 

EDWARD  EDWARDS,  A., 

the  son  of  a  chairmaker  and  carver,  born  in  Castle  Street, 
Leicester  Square,  in  1738.  He  became  a  student  at  the  St 
Martin's  Lane  Academy,  and  a  member  of  the  Incorporated 
Society  of  Artists,  but  resigned  his  membership  in  1770,  exhibit- 
ing at  the  Academy  in  1771,  and  being  elected  an  Associate  in 
1773.  He  had  previously  entered  the  Academy  schools  as  a 
student  in  1769.  His  exhibited  works,  which  consisted  chiefly 
of  Scriptural  and  Classic  subjects  with  portraits  and  landscapes 
were  of  no  great  merit,  but  he  succeeded  on  three  occasions  in 
gaining  premiums  from  the  Society  of  Arts  for  drawing,  historical 
painting,  and  landscape  respectively.  In  1788  he  was  elected 
Professor  of  Perspective  at  the  Royal  Academy  in  succession  to 


160      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

Samuel  Wale,  and  published  a  treatise  on  the  subject  in  1803. 
Another  literary  venture  of  his  which  contains  a  good  deal  of 
interesting  information  about  art  and  artists  in  this  country  at 
the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  George  III.  is  Anecdotes  of  Painters, 
intended  as  a  continuation  of  Walpole's  work.  He  died  in  1806. 

WILLIAM  PARRY,  A., 

the  son  of  a  celebrated  blind  Welsh  harper,  to  whom  he  was 
born  in  London  in  1742.  His  first  instruction  in  Art  was  received 
at  Shipley's  Drawing  School  in  the  Strand,  whence  he  went  to 
the  St  Martin's  Lane  Academy,  and  afterwards,  on  their 
opening,  to  the  Royal  Academy  schools.  He  was  also  a  pupil 
of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  who  considered  him  an  artist  of  con- 
siderable promise.  In  1770,  through  the  liberality  of  Sir  Watkin 
Williams  Wynn,  he  was  enabled  to  visit  Italy,  remaining  there 
till  1775,  when  he  returned  to  England,  and  in  1776  exhibited 
several  full  and  half  length  portraits  at  the  Academy,  being 
elected  an  Associate  in  the  same  year.  Not  meeting,  however, 
with  the  encouragement  he  expected,  he  went  back  to  Rome  in 
1779,  and  stayed  there  till  driven  back  by  ill-health  to  England 
in  1791,  dying  in  London  soon  after  his  arrival.  There  is  a 
small  etching  of  his  for  a  benefit  concert  of  his  father's,  repre- 
senting the  latter  playing  on  the  harp. 

JOHN  HAMILTON  MORTIMER,  A., 

was  born  at  Eastbourne,  Sussex,  in  1741.  His  father  sent  him 
as  a  pupil  to  Hudson,  but  he  soon  left  him  and  sought  out 
Pine,  the  portrait  painter;  he  also  frequented  the  Duke  of 
Richmond's  gallery,  where  he  drew  under  the  guidance  of 
Cipriani  and  Moser,  but  he  does  not  appear  to  have  followed  the 
fashion  of  his  time,  and  to  have  betaken  himself  to  Italy  to  finish 
his  education. 

At  the  outset  he  painted  historical  subjects,  but  after  his 


JOHN  HAMILTON  MORTIMER  161 

marriage  he  seems  to  have  relinquished  them,  with  other  dis- 
sipations to  which  he  had  before  been  addicted  ;  and,  retiring  to 
Aylesbury,  painted  pictures  with  a  moral  tendency.  In  1778 
he  returned  to  London,  having  in  the  early  part  of  that  year 
been  elected  an  Associate,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  had  never 
exhibited  at  the  Academy,  and  he  would  have  been  speedily 
raised  to  the  full  honour,  but  for  his  untimely  death,  which 
occurred  in  February,  1779.  He  was  buried  at  High  Wycombe, 
in  Bucks,  and  a  large  picture  by  him  of  "  St  Paul  preaching  to 
the  Britons"  used  to  hang  in  the  parish  church,  but  is  now 
in  the  Guildhall,  of  that  town.  There  is  an  excellent  picture  by 
him  belonging  to  the  Royal  Academy,  containing  portraits  of 
himself,  J.  Wilton,  R.A.,  and  a  lad  who  used  to  sweep  out  the 
apartments  of  the  Academy  at  Somerset  House.  It  is  well 
drawn  and  ably  and  solidly  painted,  but  the  colouring  is  rather 
harsh  and  inclined  to  blackness,  and  in  fact,  throughout  it  lacks 
that  indescribable  something,  that  compound  of  sharpness  and 
softness,  of  suavity  and  translucency,  which  are  the  sign  manual 
of  the  true  painter. 

JAMES  NIXON,  A., 

a  portrait  and  miniature  painter  of  some  repute  in  his  day, 
born  about  1741.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  enter  the  schools 
of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  sent  his  first  contribution  to  the 
Exhibition  in  1772,  becoming  an  Associate  in  1778.  It  was 
at  one  time  very  much  the  fashion  to  sit  to  him,  and  he  received 
a  good  deal  of  court  patronage,  being  limner  to  the  Prince 
Regent  and  miniature  painter  to  the  Duchess  of  York.  He 
died  at  Tiverton  in  1812. 


HORACE  HONE,  A., 

an  Irishman,  the  son  of  Nathaniel  Hone,  the  Academician, 
who,  as  already  related  (p.  34)  got  himself  into  trouble  with 
his  brethren  over  his  picture  of  "  The  Conjuror,"  in  which  he 

L 


162      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

was  supposed  to  have  insulted  Reynolds  and  Angelica  Kauff- 
man.  Horace,  the  son,  was  born  about  1755.  He  seems  to 
have  practised  in  both  oils  and  water-colours,  but  soon  came 
into  fashion  as  a  miniature  painter,  and  began  exhibiting  at  the 
Academy  in  1772.  In  1779  he  was  elected  an  Associate.  Some 
years  afterwards  he  went  to  Dublin  and  practised  his  profession 
there  with  great  success.  Appointed  miniature  painter  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales  in  1795,  he  returned  to  London,  and  continued 
in  considerable  vogue  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1825. 

GEORGE  STUBBS,  A. 

Although  he  practised  what  must  be  considered  an  inferior 
branch  of  the  art  of  painting,  George  Stubbs  achieved  a  per- 
manent reputation,  and  solicitous  Fame  still  bears  him  aloft 
upon  her  trembling  pinions.  If  we  place  him  alongside  his 
contemporary,  James  Barry,  and  contrast  the  inflated  utter- 
ances, the  bumptious  life,  and  ambitious  art  of  the  one  with  the 
unassuming  industry  of  the  other,  we  cannot  but  chuckle  and 
rejoice  in  the  irony  of  fate  which  has  so  completely  reversed 
their  reputations.  What  a  lively  pleasure  is  felt  by  every  lover 
of  Art  when,  in  some  chance  visit  to  a  town  or  country  mansion, 
his  eyes  light  upon  a  picture  by  Stubbs !  It  may  represent  a 
shooting-party  counting  their  game,  or  my  lord  and  his  lady 
driving  in  their  phaeton  in  the  park,  or  it  may  only  be  a  portrait 
of  a  dog  or  racehorse  ;  it  is  always  admirable,  clear  and  rich  in 
colouring,  accurate  in  drawing,  and  firm  and  spirited  in  its 
touch.  It  is  Art,  Art  ennobling  and  beautifying,  and  Midas-like, 
converting  everything  it  touches  into  gold. 

This  fine  artist  was  born  in  Liverpool  in  1724 ;  he  studied  in 
Rome,  and  afterwards  settled  in  London,  where  he  died  in  1806. 
He  published  a  valuable  work  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Horse, 
the  original  drawings  for  which  are  preserved  in  the  library  of 
the  Royal  Academy;  they  are  remarkable  for  their  care  and 
their  firmness  and  precision. 


GEORGE  STUBBS  163 

Stubbs  was  elected  an  Associate  in  November  1780,  and  an 
Academician  in  February  1781.  But  as  he  did  not  comply 
with  the  law  requiring  the  deposit  of  a  diploma  work,  and  sent 
no  explanation  of  his  failure  to  do  so,  his -place  was  declared 
vacant  in  1783,  and  he  consequently  never  received  his  diploma 
nor  signed  his  name  on  the  roll  of  Academicians. 

JOSEPH  WRIGHT,  A. 

Joseph  Wright,  commonly  styled  "of  Derby,"  probably  to 
distinguish   him   from  a    marine   painter,   Richard   Wright   of 
Liverpool,  whose  picture  of  "  The  Fishery  "  engraved  by  Woollett 
has  sometimes  been  attributed  to  Joseph  Wright,  was  born  there 
in  1734.     He  was  also  a  pupil  of  Hudson's,  and  subsequently 
visited  Rome.     In  1777  he  settled  in  Derby  and  remained  there 
until  his  death  in  1797.     A  small  collection  of  Wright's  pictures 
exhibited  by  the  Royal  Academy  in  the  Old  Masters'  Exhibi- 
tion  of   1886  was  the  means  of  making  the  public  better  ac- 
quainted with  his  talent,  as  before  that  time,  his  works  not  being 
much  traded  in,  and  moreover  being  for  the  most  part  in  private 
collections  in  and  about  his  native  town,  few  were  able  to  form  a 
just  conception  of  either  the  scope  or  the  quality  of  his  art.     His 
portraits  are  firmly  and  vigorously  painted  in  what  is  called  a 
manly   style,   but   they   exhibit   a   certain   hardness,  which   is 
observable  also  in  those  of  Hudson,  whether  imbibed  from  him 
or  not  we  cannot  say.     The  style,  or  mannerism,  as  we  should 
prefer  to  call  it,  for  which  he  was  celebrated,  was  the  representa- 
tion  of  candle   and   firelight.     There   is   an   example   in   the 
National   Gallery,  "  An  experiment  with  an   Air  Pump,"  and 
several  were  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy.     These  things 
are  more  calculated  to  excite  surprise  than  to  give  pleasure,  and 
Wright  of  Derby  had  not  the  imagination  of  Rembrandt,  which 
was  able  to  fill  the  dark  recesses  of  his  pictures  with  interest 
and   suggestiveness ;  with   the   former  they  are   merely  black 
holes,  with  the  latter  they  are  like  caverns  in  which  we  seem 


164      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

to  see  weird  and  gloomy  shapes  cowering  and  hiding  them- 
selves. 

Wright's  admirers  have  sought  to  enhance  his  reputation  by 
making  much  of  the  differences  between  him  and  the  Academy, 
but  an  impartial  examination  of  the  facts  of  the  case  hardly 
warrants  the  assertion  that  he  was  badly  treated  by  that  body. 
He  first  exhibited  at  the  Academy  in  1778,  having  entered  the 
schools  in  1775,  and  gained  a  Silver  Medal  there  ;  and  was 
elected  an  Associate  on  5th  November  1781,  receiving  14  votes 
out  of  19.  On  7th  December  the  Secretary  reported  to  the 
Council  that  he  had  acquainted  Mr  Wright  with  his  election  as 
an  Associate,  but  had  received  no  answer ;  and  on  7th  January 
1782,  a  letter  was  read  from  him  thanking  the  Academy  for 
having  chosen  him  an  Associate,  and  mentioning  that  he  should 
most  probably  be  in  town  at  the  Exhibition.  On  26th  March 
in  the  same  year,  he  asked  the  Council  for  "  indulgence  "  for  his 
two  pictures,  meaning  that  he  should  have  leave  to  send  them  in 
after  the  specified  date,  which  was  granted.  On  nth  October, 
nothing  having  been  heard  of  him  in  the  meantime,  the 
Secretary  was  instructed  to  write  to  Mr  Wright,  and,  that  there 
might  be  no  further  delay  in  his  signing  the  Obligation  or  Roll 
of  Institution  as  an  Associate,  a  copy  of  it  was  ordered  to  be 
sent  to  him  for  signature.  This  brought  the  following  letter  to 
the  Secretary : — 

"DERBY,  list  October  1782. 

0  Sir, — I  take  the  liberty  of  troubling  you  with  a  letter 
previous  to  my  signing  the  Obligation,  to  know  why  in  the  last 
Catalogue  I  stood  Academician  elect,  and  now  on  the  list  of 
candidates  as  an  Associate? 

"  When  I  wrote  you  in  February  last,  it  was  my  intention 
to  have  been  in  town  at  the  ensuing  Exhibition,  but  was  pre- 
vented by  business  which  was  not  to  be  delayed.  I  did  not 
then  know  the  necessity  of  either  appearing  or  writing, 


JOSEPH  WRIGHT  (OF  DERBY)  165 

otherwise  if  I  could  not  do  the  one  I  should  not  have 
omited  (sic)  the  other.  —  I  am,  Sir,  your  most  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

"JOSEPH  WRIGHT." 

The  Secretary  replied  as  follows  : — 

"R.A.,  8//fc  November  1782. 

"Sir, — I  am  favoured  with  yours  dated  2ist  October,  which 
I  should  have  answered  but  have  been  prevented  by  absence 
for  a  few  days. 

"If  you  will  please  to  refer  to  the  last  Catalogue  you  will 
find  at  the  beginning  that  the  Academicians  are  distinguished 
by  the  letters  R.A.,  the  Associates  by  the  letter  A. 

"  After  your  name  you  will  find  A.  Elect,  and  in  the  list  of 
the  exhibitors  at  the  end  of  the  Catalogue  you  will  find  Joseph 
Wright,  Associate  Elect,  Derby. — I  am,  Sir,  your  most  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

"  F.  M.  NEWTON,  R.A.,  Secretary. 
"  Mr  Joseph  Wright,  Derby." 

He  appears  to  have  been  satisfied  with  this  explanation,  as 
we  find  the  Secretary  reporting  to  the  Council  on  3ist  December 
1782,  that  he  had  received  the  copy  of  the  Obligation  from 
Mr  Joseph  Wright,  duly  signed.  The  first  vacancy  that  occurred 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Academicians  after  Wright's  election  as 
an  Associate  was  filled  up  on  nth  February  1783,  when 
Edmund  Garvey  was  elected  by  10  votes  against  8  given  for 
Wright.  Garvey,  it  may  be  mentioned,  had  been  an  Associate 
since  1770,  and  was  not,  as  has  been  asserted,  merely  a  painter 
of  gentlemen's  seats.  The  next  election  of  an  Academician 
took  place  on  loth  February  1784,  and  Wright  was  elected 
by  8  votes  against  7  given  for  J.  F.  Rigaud.  At  the  meeting 
of  the  Council  on  26th  March  following,  however,  a  letter  was 


166      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  REYNOLDS 

read  from  Mr  Joseph  Wright,  wherein  he  declined  being  an 
Academician,  and  it  was  resolved  "  that  his  name  be  erased 
from  the  List  of  Associates  according  to  his  desire."  The 
Associate's  Roll  of  Institution  contains  the  following  entry 
in  the  space  where  Wright  should  have  signed  his  name : — 
"Mem.  Mr  Jos.  Wright,  elected  5th  November  1781,  resigned" 
Wright,  therefore,  ceased  to  be  an  Associate  of  the  Academy, 
and  the  letter  A.  ought  not,  strictly  speaking,  to  be  appended  to 
his  name.  This  is  further  proved  by  the  fact  that  when  he  again 
began  exhibiting  at  the  Academy  in  1788,  his  name  is  not 
printed  as  that  of  a  member.  He  died  in  1797. 

JOSEPH  BONOMI,  A., 

was  born  in  Rome  in  1739,  and  studied  architecture  there.  In 
1767  he  was  persuaded  by  the  brothers  Adam  to  come  to 
London,  and  was  employed  by  them  for  many  years  on  archi- 
tectural and  decorative  work.  Having  married  in  1775  a  cousin 
of  Angelica  Kauffman's,  he  was  persuaded  by  her  to  return  to 
Rome  with  his  wife  and  family  in  1783,  but  soon  came  back  to 
London,  where  he  regularly  settled  down  to  practise  his  profes- 
sion. In  1789  he  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Royal 
Academy  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  President,  who  subsequently, 
as  already  narrated,  endeavoured  to  get  him  elected  an  Acade- 
mician, in  order  that  he  might  become  Professor  of  Perspective. 
The  failure  of  Reynolds  to  accomplish  this  object  led  to  his 
temporary  resignation  of  the  Presidency.  Bonomi  had  a  great 
reputation  for  architectural  knowledge  and  taste,  and  designed 
several  well-known  country  houses.  His  talents  were  acknow- 
ledged in  his  native  town  by  his  appointment  in  1804  as 
Honorary  Architect  of  St  Peters.  He  died  on  9th  March  1808. 


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CHAPTER  XI 

THE  PRESIDENCY  OF   BENJAMIN   WEST 

"ON  the  23rd  of  February,  'twixt  eight  and  nine  in  the  evening, 
died  our  worthy  President."  So  runs  the  heading  of  the  Council 
Minutes  of  Sunday,  the  26th  of  February  1792,  on  which  day  a 
meeting  had  been  summoned  to  make  arrangements  for  the 
funeral  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.  The  executors  of  the  deceased 
President  were  anxious  that  the  body  should  be  conveyed  to  the 
Royal  Academy  the  evening  before  the  interment  to  lie  in  state 
there  ;  but  Sir  William  Chambers  reminded  the  Council  that  as 
surveyor  of  Somerset  House,  appointed  by  the  king,  he  was 
bound  not  to  permit  it  to  be  used  for  any  other  purposes  than 
those  specified  in  the  grant,  and  that  therefore  the  request  of 
the  executors  must  be  refused,  which  was  accordingly  done. 
Benjamin  West,  however,  who  was  on  the  Council,  appears  not 
to  have  been  satisfied  with  this  result,  and  to  have  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  favour  which  he  enjoyed  at  court  to  have  Chambers' 
veto  removed ;  for  at  the  General  Assembly  held  on  28th 
February,  and  of  which  he  was  elected  chairman,  he  announced 
that  he  had  that  day  waited  on  His  Majesty,  and  informed  him 
of  all  the  circumstances,  and  that  His  Majesty,  while  approving 
of  the  Council's  "caution,"  was  "most  graciously  pleased  to 
signify  that  it  is  his  royal  will  that  that  mark  of  respect  should 
be  shown,  and  gave  his  commands  for  its  being  so  ordered." 
Accordingly  it  was  resolved  "  that  the  body  be  moved  to  the 
Royal  Academy  the  night  preceding  the  funeral " ;  and  "  that 
a  part  of  the  model  Academy  be  enclosed,  to  be  hung  with 
black,  sconces,  etc.,  to  deposit  the  corpse."  The  funeral  took 

167 


168        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

place  in  St  Paul's  Cathedral  on  the  3rd  of  March,  the  cost  being 
defrayed  by  the  members  of  the  Academy  out  of  their  own 
pockets,  each  member  subscribing  thirty  shillings,  as  may  be 
seen  by  a  list  of  the  payments  still  preserved  in  the  Academy 
archives.  There  were  ten  pall-bearers,  the  Duke  of  Dorset,  the 
Duke  of  Leeds,  the  Duke  of  Portland,  the  Marquis  Townshend, 
the  Marquess  of  Abercorn,  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  the  Earl  of  Inchi- 
quin,  the  Earl  of  Upper  Ossory,  Viscount  Palmerston,  and  Lord 
Eliot.  A  long  line  of  carriages,  ninety-one  in  number,  followed, 
containing,  in  addition  to  the  members  and  students  of  the 
Academy,  all  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  day.  The 
grave  is  in  the  crypt,  close  to  that  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren. 
The  monument  in  the  nave,  which  is  by  Flaxman,  was  not 
erected  till  1813. 

The  pomp  of  that  funeral,  the  stately  edifice  which  received 
the  remains  of  the  deceased  President,  the  long  procession 
through  hushed  streets  where  shops  were  closed,  the  great  men 
who  followed  mourning,  all  the  circumstances  which  have  marked 
that  day  with  solemnity,  seem  appropriate  as  closing  not  only 
the  first  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Royal  Academy,  but  a 
great  era  of  English  Art.  In  saying  farewell  to  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Royal  Academy,  we  are  also  taking  leave  of  a  school, 
a  school  as  distinct  as  that  of  Phidias,  and  as  remarkable  for  its 
individual  character,  for  the  suddenness  of  its  development, 
and  for  the  shortness  of  its  duration. 

Great  men  followed  after,  and  the  succession  is  still  unbroken ; 
but  these  in  their  tendency,  the  direction  of  their  aim,  in  their 
excellencies  and  in  their  defects,  fail  to  exhibit  the  same  unity 
and  singleness  of  purpose.  One  great  artist,  perhaps  the 
greatest  England  has  produced,  namely,  J.  M.  W.  Turner, 
combined  in  his  practice  the  excellencies  of  many  schools,  but 
founded  none  ;  he  was  too  many-sided,  his  imagination  was  too 
discursive,  and  the  range  of  his  achievement  too  vast,  to  admit 
of  followers ;  he  stands  alone,  as  such  men  always  do,  a  solitary 
beacon,  a  pharos  shining  through  the  darkness  of  history,  and 


ENGLISH  ART  IN  THE  18ra  CENTURY          169 

we  can  discern  none  like  him.  Whereas  in  that  group  of 
painters  which  constituted  the  nucleus  of  the  Royal  Academy 
at  its  outset,  though  there  is  great  difference  of  merit,  we  can 
discern  a  distinct  family  likeness ;  they  had  formed  the  same 
ideal,  and  pursued  the  same  object,  and  the  difference  between 
them  is  chiefly  marked  by  the  varying  degrees  of  their  ability 
to  attain  to  it.  However  this  may  have  come  about  matters 
not  to  us  here,  but  it  is  a  patent  fact,  that  with  the  death  of 
Reynolds  and  the  Presidency  of  Benjamin  West,  English  Art 
entered  on  a  new  phase,  in  which  we  see  more  effort,  more 
ambition,  but  less  conviction,  less  unity  of  purpose,  and  con- 
sequently also  less  distinctive  character. 

Those  who  frequent  exhibitions  and  auction-rooms,  though 
they  may  not  have  reasoned  upon  it,  are  aware  that  in  the  depths 
of  their  consciousness  there  is  a  peculiar  type  which  they  associ- 
ate with  the  art  of  Reynolds,  Gainsborough,  and  Romney  ;  and  if 
chance  brings  them  to  a  picture  by  Cotes,  by  Dance,  by  Wilson, 
or  by  Chamberlin,  they  recognise  that  type,  and  mentally 
associate  those  pictures  with  that  art.  They  are  affected  in  the 
first  place  by  a  sense  of  colour,  of  repose  and  dignity  ;  then  they 
become  aware  that  there  is  very  great  economy  of  details,  that 
the  design  always  aims  at  grandeur,  and  when  it  fails  to  attain 
to  it,  falls  back  into  meagreness ;  that  the  colouring  aims  at 
richness  and  depth  rather  than  brilliancy;  that  there  are  no 
strong  contrasts,  and  that  pure  white  is  sparingly  used.  It  is  an 
art  which  is  quite  peculiar,  and  which,  once  observed,  can  never 
be  mistaken.  It  reminds  one  of  other  things,  it  recalls  remini- 
scences of  Flanders,  of  Venice,  and  of  Rome,  but  in  a  vague  and 
indistinct  way ;  over  and  above  these,  presiding  over,  guiding, 
and  governing  them,  there  is  a  distinct  expression  of  nationality. 
This  art  has  its  definite  position  both  in  time  and  in  space ;  it 
belongs  to  England  and  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  ; 
no  other  age  or  country  has  ever  produced  anything  like  it.  To 
this  phase  of  English  Art  we  are  now  going  to  say  good-bye,  and 
not  without  regret ;  it  was  pure  in  its  spirit  and  noble  in  its  aim, 


170        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

but,  alas !  it  was  not  destined  to  be  a  starting-point,  but  a 
culmination. 

But  if  not  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  starting-point  qua  Art, 
it  may  certainly  be  considered  so  in  every  sense  of  the  term 
as  regards  the  Institution  founded  by  its  exponents,  which, 
under  their  fostering  care,  increased  year  by  year  in  power  and 
influence.  At  the  death  of  Reynolds,  and,  indeed,  for  some  time 
previously,  the  Academy  occupied  a  thoroughly  stable  and 
independent  position.  From  being  housed  in  a  small  room  in 
Pall  Mall,  it  had  become  the  occupier  of  a  fine  suite  of  apart- 
ments in  Somerset  House.  Its  exhibitions  had  increased  in 
size  and  importance,  from  136  works  in  1769  to  780  in  1792  ; 
and  whereas  of  the  136  works  79  had  been  contributed  by 
members  of  the  Academy,  and  57  by  non-members,  of  the  780, 
126  were  by  members  and  654  by  outside  contributors.  The 
annual  receipts  from  the  exhibition  had  also  largely  increased, 
having  risen  from  £699,  175.  6d.  in  1769  to  ^2602  in  1792  ;  and 
from  being  dependent  on  the  royal  bounty  to  make  up  the 
difference  between  the  receipts  and  the  expenditure  on  the 
schools  and  other  outgoings,  the  Academy  had  become  the 
possessor  of  more  than  ;£  12,000  of  invested  moneys,  the  interest 
from  which  was  sufficient  to  cover  any  deficiency  in  its  annual 
income.  Its  free  schools  had  flourished  and  admirably  fulfilled 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  founded.  From  the  beginning 
of  1769  to  the  end  of  1791,  564  students  had  been  admitted,  of 
whom  50  had  attained  the  rank  of  Associate  or  Academician  ; 
and  among  these  may  be  found  such  names  as  Cosway,  Banks, 
Northcote,  Russell,  Wheatley,  Stothard,  Lawrence,  Hoppner, 
Beechey,  Shee,  Flaxman,  Turner,  Soane,  Wright  (of  Derby). 
Nor  had  the  charitable  intentions  which  were  in  the  minds  of 
the  original  founders  when  they  presented  their  memorial  to 
George  III.  been  lost  sight  of,  from  £70  to  £180  having  been 
given  away  yearly  to  distressed  artists,  their  widows  and  children. 

It  was,  therefore,  no  infant  institution  struggling  into  exist- 
ence, to  the  chair  of  which  Benjamin  West  was  elected  by  twenty- 


ROTATION  OF  COUNCIL  171 

nine  votes  against  one  registered  for  Richard  Cosway,  on  I7th 
March  1792.  By  the  fostering  care  of  those  who  had  presided  at 
its  birth  and  had  carefully  nursed  its  early  years,  coupled  with  the 
immediate  and  active  patronage  and  protection  of  George  III., 
the  Royal  Academy  had  become,  to  use  the  pardonably  magnilo- 
quent language  of  the  address  presented  in  1793,  the  year  after 
Reynolds'  death,  to  the  royal  founder  to  commemorate  the 
celebration  of  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  the  Institution,  "  a  per- 
manent monument  of  public  utility  and  royal  munificence." 

The  presidency  of  Benjamin  West  lasted  for  twenty-eight 
years,  from  1792  to  1820.  During  that  time  forty  Academicians 
were  elected,  besides  fifteen  Associates  who  did  not  attain  to 
the  higher  grade.  When  West  took  the  helm,  the  Academic  ship 
was  sailing  in  smooth  waters,  and  nothing  occurred  to  ruffle 
the  calm  till  1797,  when  began  the  unfortunate  proceedings 
which  ended  in  the  expulsion  of  James  Barry,  the  story  of 
which  has  been  already  told  in  Chapter  VIII. 

This  was  followed  by  another  internal  dispute,  caused  by  a 
newly  elected  member,  Henry  Tresham,  representing  to  the  king 
that  the  law  in  the  Instrument  of  Institution,  by  which  the  seats 
on  the  council  were  to  go  by  succession  to  all  the  members,  had 
been  systematically  violated,  the  vacancies  having  been  balloted 
for.  This  certainly  appears  from  the  minutes  to  have  been  the 
case,  but  no  one  seems  to  have  objected,  probably  because  the 
result  of  the  ballot  proved  generally  to  be  in  accordance  with  the 
law.  However,  at  the  annual  election  of  officers  for  the  year  1 800, 
on  loth  December  1799,  Tresham,  who  had  been  elected  an 
Academician  in  that  year,  was  not  chosen  as  one  of  the  Council, 
a  position  to  which  he  considered  himself  entitled,  and  he  accord- 
ingly appealed  to  the  king.  This  action  of  his  led  to  a  long 
and  acrimonious  discussion  in  the  General  Assembly,  and  to  a 
counter  appeal  to  George  III.,  who  eventually,  while  exonerating 
the  Academy  from  blame,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
meaning  of  the  law  was  explicit,  and  that  each  member  should 
serve  on  the  Council  in  rotation,  the  names  of  the  newly 


172        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

elected  members  who  had  received  their  diplomas  being  always 
placed  at  the  top  of  the  annual  list.  Nor  has  any  change 
ever  been  made  in  this  admirable  rule,  which  prevents  the 
conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the  Academy  ever  falling  into  the 
hands  of  a  clique,  however  able ;  gives  each  member  in  his 
turn  an  opportunity,  at  any  rate,  of  endeavouring  to  carry  out 
his  own  views  on  any  point  on  which  he  may  feel  strongly ; 
and  enables  newly-elected  members  to  become  acquainted 
at  once  with  the  business  and  general  working  of  the  body 
to  which  they  belong. 

Another  far  more  serious  cause  of  difference  arose  in  1803, 
involving  a  dispute  between  the  Council  and  the  General 
Assembly  which  was  the  cause  of  a  great  deal  of  bad  feeling. 
It  arose  out  of  a  refusal  of  the  majority  in  the  Council  of  1803 
to  allow  the  receipt  of  a  Report  drawn  up  by  a  Committee 
chosen  by  the  General  Assembly  to  report  upon  an  increase 
in  salaries,  on  the  ground  that  by  the  Instrument  the  President 
and  Council  having  the  entire  management  and  direction  of 
the  affairs  of  the  Society,  no  business  of  any  kind  could  be 
delegated  to  a  Committee  that  did  not  consist  of  the  members 
of  the  Council.  Feeling  ran  very  high ;  and  when  on  the  24th 
May,  the  Council  passed  a  resolution  stating  that  it  was  "  in 
no  respect  whatever  subordinate  to  the  General  Assembly," 
and  that  the  members  of  the  Council  were  "not  responsible 
either  collectively  or  individually  to  the  General  Assembly  as 
to  their  proceedings  in  Council "  ;  and  further  proceeded  to  call 
upon  the  President  to  lay  the  above  resolutions  before  the 
king  and  request  His  Majesty  to  be  "graciously  pleased  to 
express  his  sentiments  thereon  for  the  future  guidance  and 
direction  of  the  Royal  Academy,"  the  General  Assembly 
responded  on  3Oth  May,  by  declaring  "  that  the  conduct  of 
John  Singleton  Copley,  James  Wyatt,  John  Venn,  John  Soane, 
Esquires,  and  Sir  Francis  Bourgeois  in  the  Council  on  the 
24th  May  1803,  has  rendered  it  expedient  to  suspend  pro 
tempore  the  said  members  from  their  functions  as  Councillors 


THE  COUNCIL  AND  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY    173 

of  the  Royal  Academy,"  and  appointed  a  Committee  of  eleven 
members  to  consider  the  whole  question  and  recommend  what 
measures  should  be  taken.  No  record  exists  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  Committee ;  but  on  loth  August,  the  President 
reported  to  the  General  Assembly  that  he  with  the  Secretary 
had  attended  at  Windsor,  and  presented  to  His  Majesty  "  the 
address  of  the  General  Assembly,  with  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee to  the  General  Assembly,  and  their  resolutions,  as  well 
as  the  vote  of  the  General  Assembly  for  £500  as  a  subscrip- 
tion to  the  list  of  subscribers  at  Loyds  in  aid  of  those  who 
may  suffer  or  distinguish  themselves  in  the  present  war,"  and 
that  His  Majesty,  after  glancing  over  the  papers,  had  said 
that  they  seemed  to  be  very  important,  and  that  he  must 
have  time  to  look  them  over,  and  consult  with  high  authority. 
West's  report  goes  on  to  say :  "His  Majesty  then  laid  the 
papers  on  his  table,  and  entered  on  the  subject  of  the  Arts, 
their  patronage,  and  exhibitions,  for  more  than  two  hours  and 
a  half."  On  2ist  November,  the  following  statement  was 
read  by  the  Secretary  to  the  General  Assembly  :  "  The  Presi- 
dent, Secretary,  and  Treasurer  attended  at  the  Queen's  Lodge, 
Windsor,  November  I3th,  according  to  His  Majesty's  com- 
mands :  His  Majesty  having  graciously  received  us,  said  as 
follows,  that  he  had  examined  those  papers  presented  to  him 
by  the  President  and  Secretary  in  August  last,  according 
to  the  promise  he  then  gave,  and  consulted  legal  authority, 
and  that  His  Majesty's  answer  was  contained  in  the  paper  he 
held  in  his  hand,  that  he  had  committed  it  to  writing  to  pre- 
vent there  being  too  much  or  too  little  said  on  the  subject 
at  the  general  meeting,  when  his  decision  on  this  business 
was  made  known  ;  and  immediately  gave  it  to  me,  and  com- 
manded me  to  read,  which  I  did,  and  is  as  follows : — 

"'GEORGE  R. 

" '  By  the  Laws  of  the  Royal  Academy,  the  General  Body  have 
no  power  whatever  to  apply   any  part  of  the  funds  belonging 


174        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

to  that  Society,  without  the  authority  and  consent  of  the 
Council ;  and  also  no  part  of  the  funds  can  be  applicable  to 
any  purposes  but  those  of  the  Institution  of  the  Royal 
Academy. 

"  *  The  king  therefore  disapproves  of  the  donation  proposed. 

"  *  His  Majesty  also  disapproves  of  the  conduct  of  the  General 
Body  of  the  Royal  Academy,  in  censuring  and  suspending 
some  of  the  members  of  the  Council ;  viz.,  John  Singleton 
Copley,  James  Wyatt,  John  Venn,  John  Soane,  and  Sir  Francis 
Bourgeois ;  and  therefore  orders  and  directs  that  all  matters 
relating  to  these  proceedings  shall  be  expunged  from  the 
Minutes  of  the  Royal  Academy.  And  it  is  further  the  king's 
pleasure  that  this  be  recorded,  as  a  future  guide  for  the 
General  Body  on  such  occasions.  G.  R.' 


> » 


There  was  nothing  for  the  General  Assembly  to  do  but 
to  accept  this  rebuff  with  the  best  grace  it  could,  and  a 
somewhat  fulsome  address  of  "gratitude"  for  His  Majesty's 
"  deliberate  attention  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Academy  "  was 
drawn  up,  which  also  stated  that  "sensibly  feeling  it  to  be 
your  Majesty's  desire  to  re-establish  harmony  and  good  under- 
standing among  the  members  of  this  Institution,  we  can  best 
endeavour  to  repay  it  by  seconding  in  every  way  those  gracious 
views."  Unfortunately,  however,  the  address  was  accompanied 
by  a  series  of  resolutions  of  an  explanatory  and  exculpatory 
nature  which  did  not  meet  with  the  king's  approbation  ;  for 
although  West  reported  on  loth  December  that  His  Majesty 
had  on  the  4th  of  that  month  "  received  the  address  with 
every  mark  of  gracious  attention,  and  signified  his  pleasure 
at  the  handsome  manner  in  which  the  Academicians  had 
shown  their  attachment  to  his  person  and  reign,  as  well  as  to 
his  communications  to  them,  by  seconding  his  wishes  for  the 
harmony  and  prosperity  of  the  Royal  Academy,"  it  was  evi- 
dent that  a  subsequent  perusal  of  the  resolutions  made  him 
take  a  rather  different  view,  since  at  the  same  meeting  the 


ACTION  OF  GEORGE  III.  175 

Secretary  stated  that  on  the  /th  the  Treasurer  had  handed 
to  him  by  His  Majesty's  command  a  paper  which  he  proceeded 
to  read,  in  which,  as  will  be  seen,  the  king  administered  a  final 
and  decisive  snub  to  the  busybodies  who  had  been  trying  to  stir 
up  strife  and  make  mischief. 

"GEORGE  R. 

"  His  Majesty,  finding  that  the  communication  made  by 
him  to  the  Royal  Academy  early  in  the  last  month  has  not 
been  clearly  understood,  he  thinks  it  necessary  to  convey 
his  sentiments  in  a  manner  that  will  prevent  any  misunder- 
standing in  future. 

"  His  Majesty  therefore  directs,  in  order  to  shew  his  disap- 
probation of  Committees  being  appointed  by  the  General 
Body  to  transact  any  business  which  it  is  the  duty  of  Council 
to  perform,  that  the  protest  delivered  by  John  Singleton 
Copley,  James  Wyatt,  John  Yenn,  John  Soane,  and  Sir  Francis 
Bourgeois,  shall  remain  on  the  Minutes  of  the  Council  of  the 
Royal  Academy. 

"  And  His  Majesty  also  directs  that  the  Motion  made  by  John 
Singleton  Copley  on  the  24th  day  of  May  last  and  seconded  by 
Sir  Francis  Bourgeois  (a  copy  of  which  he  has  directed  to  be 
annexed  hereto)  shall  be  re-entered  on  the  Minutes  of  the 
Council  of  the  Royal  Academy  as  a  further  mark  of  his  dis- 
approbation of  the  business  of  the  Council  being  interrupted  by 
any  other  power  in  the  Academy. 

"And  in  order  that  His  Majesty's  sentiments  and  determina- 
tion on  these  points  may  be  more  clearly  understood,  he  directs 
that  all  the  Minutes,  Resolves,  and  other  Transactions  of  the 
General  Body  respecting  the  censure  and  suspension  of  John 
Singleton  Copley,  James  Wyatt,  John  Yenn,  John  Soane,  and 
Sir  Francis  Bourgeois,  shall  be  expunged  from  the  recollection 
of  the  Royal  Academy. 

"  And  His  Majesty  further  directs  (as  it  is  his  wish  to  restore 
good  harmony,  and  to  see  it  continue  amongst  the  Academicians 


176        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

of  the  Royal  Academy),  that  the  Resolutions  of  the  General 
Body,  of  the  1st  day  of  December  (as  presented  to  him  with  the 
Address)  shall  be  obliterated  from  the  Minutes  of  that  meeting. 
"  The  king  orders  the  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Academy  to 
carry  the  above  directions  into  effect  and  to  enter  these  his 
Royal  Commands  in  the  Books  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal 
Academy.  G.  R." 

The  merits  of  the  case,  viz.,  the  respective  powers  of  the 
Council  and  the  General  Assembly  which  caused  this  unseemly 
squabble,  are  not  easily  determined ;  and  indeed  it  may  be  said 
that  notwithstanding  George  III.'s  very  definite  interpretation 
under  legal  advice  of  the  meaning  of  the  laws  and  regulations, 
the  matter  is  one  which  has  constantly  been  the  subject  of 
discussion  and  friction.  In  the  present  instance,  so  far  as  can  be 
judged  from  the  minutes  of  the  two  bodies,  the  majority  of  the 
Council  acted  in  the  first  instance  without  much  tact  or  discre- 
tion, and  the  General  Assembly  displayed  even  less  of  those 
very  desirable  qualities.  To  the  President,  the  king's  decision 
must  have  been  rather  a  disagreeable  surprise,  as  he  had,  so  far 
as  can  be  judged  from  the  records,  strongly  taken  the  view  of 
the  General  Assembly.  In  so  doing,  however,  it  is  permissible 
to  surmise  that  he  was  not  altogether  uninfluenced  by  a  personal 
feeling.  The  unfortunate  episode  of  the  "  Hagar  and  Ishmael  " 
picture  happened  in  this  year,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  West 
strongly  suspected  Copley  of  being  the  member  who,  in  his 
absence  through  illness,  drew  attention  to  the  fact  of  the  picture 
having  been  exhibited  before,  and  persuaded  the  others  of  the 
majority  who  acted  with  him  to  decline  to  allow  it  to  be 
exhibited,  although  they  accepted  West's  explanations  that 
the  picture  had  been  so  much  altered  and  repainted  as  to  be 
practically  entirely  different  from  the  one  exhibited  in  1776,  and 
sent  an  official  statement  to  the  papers  contradicting  a  garbled 
account  which  had  previously  appeared  of  what  took  place 
when  it  was  first  seen  by  them.  West,  feeling  sure  that  this 


FINANCES  OF  THE  ACADEMY  177 

garbled  account  must  have  been  furnished  by  one  of  the  Council, 
brought  the  matter  before  the  General  Assembly,  and  further 
aggravated  matters  by  denouncing  the  Council  for  having  given 
Copley  permission,  which  he  did  not  avail  himself  of,  to  send  in 
a  picture  after  the  appointed  date,  and  then  allowing  him  to 
withdraw  it  after  it  had  been  hung.  The  result  of  all  this  was 
a  further  washing  of  dirty  linen  in  public.  Tantcene  animis 
ccelestibus  ires.  The  whole  story  is  an  unpleasant  one,  and 
redounds  to  nobody's  credit 

As  has  been  already  stated,  the  finances  of  the  Academy, 
thanks  to  the  liberality  of  George  III.  in  the  first  years  of  its 
existence,  and  to  the  careful  management  of  Sir  William 
Chambers,  were,  on  the  accession  of  West,  in  a  very  flourish- 
ing condition.  On  the  death  of  Chambers  in  1796,  and  the 
appointment  of  his  successor,  John  Yenn,  a  consideration  of 
the  state  of  the  exchequer  showed  that  there  had  been  an 
average  saving  for  the  last  ten  years  of  .£400  a  year,  and  that 
the  interest  derived  from  invested  property,  some  £300  a 
year,  was  sufficient  to  guard  against  any  probable  deficiency 
in  the  annual  income.  It  was  accordingly  resolved  to  devote 
all  the  future  savings,  after  payment  of  necessary  expenses, 
to  increasing  the  charity  fund,  which  already  amounted  to 
.£6000,  and  as  soon  as  the  fund  reached  £10,000,  to  give 
pensions  out  of  the  interest  derived  from  it  to  Academicians, 
Associates,  and  their  widows,  who  should  produce  satis- 
factory proofs  of  their  circumstances  being  such  as  to  make 
them  require  it ;  each  claim  to  be  investigated  by  the  Council, 
and  proper  discrimination  made  "  between  imprudent  con- 
duct and  the  unavoidable  failure  of  professional  employment " 
as  regarded  the  members,  and  satisfactory  evidence  obtained 
"  in  respect  to  the  moral  conduct  of  the  widows."  The  amount 
of  each  pension  was  very  small :  to  an  Academician,  a  sum  not 
exceeding  £50  a  year,  provided  the  annual  sum  given  did  not 
make  his  annual  income  exceed  £100 ;  to  an  Associate,  the 
maximum  was  £30,  the  total  income  not  to  exceed  £So ;  the 

M 


178        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

widow  of  an  Academician  received  the  same  amount  as  an 
Associate,  under  the  same  conditions  as  to  income,  and  the 
widow  of  an  Associate  £20,  the  annual  income  not  to  exceed 
£50.  These  amounts  were  to  be  increased  when  the  fund 
reached  £15,000,  to  £60,  £36,  £36,  and  £25  respectively,  the 
total  income  remaining  in  each  case  the  same  as  before ;  and 
when  it  reached  £20,000,  to  £70,  £50,  £50,  and  £30  respectively, 
no  change  being  still  made  in  the  total  amount  of  each  income. 
Any  Academician  or  Associate  who  did  not  exhibit  in  the 
Royal  Academy  for  two  successive  years  was  to  have  no  claim  on 
the  Pension  Fund.  The  £15,000  was  reached  in  1809,  and  the 
£20,000  in  1817.  It  was  never  added  to,  and  was  some  years 
after  merged  in  the  general  funds.  The  amount  of  the  respec- 
tive pensions,  however,  has  been  increased  on  four  subsequent 
occasions,  and  they  now  stand,  for  an  Academician,  a  sum  not 
exceeding  £300,  and  for  the  widow  of  an  Academician,  a  sum 
not  exceeding  £200,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  the 
total  income  in  either  case  exceed  £400;  for  an  Associate,  a 
sum  not  exceeding  £200,  and  for  his  widow,  a  sum  not  exceed- 
ing £150,  provided  the  sum  given  does  not  make  the  total 
income  in  either  case  exceed  £300. 

The  charities  of  the  Academy  had  been  by  no  means  limited 
to  members  of  their  own  body.  From  the  first,  grants  were  made 
annually  at  the  close  of  the  exhibition  to  indigent  artists,  their 
widows  and  children.  £157,  ios.  was  the  amount  given  the  first 
year,  one  of  the  recipients  being  Mrs  Hogarth,  widow  of  William 
Hogarth.  Subsequently  the  gifts  were  confined  to  those  who 
had  been  exhibitors  at  the  Royal  Academy,  their  widows  and 
children.  Grants  are  now  made  twice  a  year,  in  February  and 
August,  and  their  average  annual  amount  has  been  £1200. 
The  same  person  cannot  receive  a  grant  more  than  once  in 
any  one  year,  nor  can  a  larger  sum  than  £100  be  given  to  any 
one  applicant. 

In  connection  with  the  finances  of  the  Academy,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  in  1799  the  General  Assembly  voted  £500  to 


CHANGES  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  179 


the  Government  as  a  contribution  towards  the  heavy  calls  made 
upon  the  public  purse  by  the  French  war  and  other  causes  of 
expenditure.  A  similar  grant  of  £500  in  1803  towards  the 
subscription  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  by  the  war,  to  which 
allusion  has  already  been  made,  was  vetoed  by  the  king,  on  the 
ground  that  the  moneys  of  the  Academy  could  not  be  given  for 
such  a  purpose.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  see  why,  if  the  former 
grant  was  allowed,  this  was  forbidden.  George  III.  continued 
to  the  last  to  exercise  a  more  than  nominal  control  over  the 
Academy  finances,  and  always  considered  himself,  as  indeed  the 
sovereign  still  is  nominally,  responsible  for  any  debts  contracted 
by  the  Academy  which  it  might  not  be  able  to  pay.  This  is 
shown  by  the  terms  of  the  Royal  warrant  appointing  Venn 
Treasurer,  which  have  been  quoted  in  a  former  chapter. 

The  Academy,  however,  was  not  quite  so  dependent  on  the 
king  and  his  special  officer,  the  Treasurer,  after  Chambers'  death. 
Up  to  that  time  all  moneys  received  were  paid  to  Chambers, 
and  even  the  investments  stood  in  his  name  until  1792,  when 
the  first  trustees  were  appointed.  On  Venn's  nomination  as 
Treasurer,  the  Academy  opened  a  banking  account  of  its  own, 
Messrs  Drummonds,  of  Charing  Cross,  being  appointed  bankers 
by  the  Council  on  7th  May  1796,  and  the  same  firm  have 
continued  to  hold  the  post  down  to  the  present  day. 

During  Benjamin  West's  long  tenure  of  the  Presidency, 
many  matters  of  interest  occurred  both  in  connection  with  the 
Academy  specially,  and  also  affecting  the  prospects  of  Art 
generally.  To  the  Professorships  of  Painting,  Anatomy,  Archi- 
tecture, and  Perspective  established  at  the  foundation,  was  added 
in  1810  a  Professorship  of  Sculpture,  the  first  holder  being  John 
Flaxman,  R.  A.  The  period  of  studentship  which  had  originally 
been  fixed  at  six  years,  and  increased  in  1792  to  seven  years, 
was  in  1800  further  extended  to  ten  years  ;  and,  to  continue  the 
story,  at  that  it  remained  till  1853,  when  it  was  again  reduced 
to  seven  years;  in  1881  it  was  further  reduced  to  six  years, 
divided  into  two  periods  of  three  years  each  ;  and  subsequently, 


180        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

in  1890  to  five  years,  divided  into  two  periods  of  three  years 
and  two  years,  the  second  period  being  dependent  on  passing 
an  examination;  while  the  privilege  of  life  studentship  which  had 
been  granted  in  1853  to  a^  students  who  had  obtained  medals 
was  abolished. 

The  number  of  works  contributed  to  the  exhibition  had 
risen  from  856  in  1793  to  1248  in  1819.  Some  changes  were 
made  in  the  printing  of  the  Catalogue  in  1796  and  1809,  and  in 
the  latter  year  the  price  was  raised  from  sixpence  to  a  shilling. 
The  so-called  "Varnishing  Days"  were  established  in  1809,  at 
least  for  members  of  the  Academy.  They  continued  till  1852, 
when  they  were  abandoned,  but  were  subsequently  renewed  and 
the  privilege  extended  to  non-members,  for  whom  a  special 
day  is  now  set  apart,  the  members  having  two  or  three  days 
to  themselves. 

When  the  Royal  Academy  attained  what  would  now  be  called 
its  Jubilee  in  1818,  it  was  proposed  to  celebrate  the  occasion  by 
the  preparation  of  a  history  of  the  Institution  with  an  account 
of  all  its  members,  illustrated.  The  idea,  however,  was  unfortu- 
nately abandoned,  and  much  interesting  information  of  various 
kinds  thereby  lost.  An  attempt  had  been  made  a  few  years 
previously  by  Prince  Hoare,  who  had  been  appointed  Honorary 
Secretary  for  Foreign  Correspondence  in  1799,  to  provide  some 
of  the  materials  for  such  a  history  by  the  publication  in  1804  of 
a  small  quarto  volume  called  Academic  Correspondence,  giving  an 
account  of "  the  principal  occurrences  and  transactions  relative 
to  the  Royal  Academy"  in  1802  and  1803,  together  with  some 
correspondence  between  him  and  the  Academies  of  Vienna  and 
St  Petersburgh  on  the  subject  of  the  Fine  Arts,  and  a  description 
of  the  public  monuments  erected  to  distinguished  sailors  and 
soldiers  since  1798.  This  was  followed  in  1805  by  a  similar 
volume  on  an  enlarged  scale  published  with  the  authority  of 
the  Academy  under  the  title  of  Academic  Annals,  A  subsequent 
volume  similarly  entitled,  issued  in  1809,  did  not  on  account  of 
the  war  contain  any  correspondence  with  foreign  Academies, 


THE  BRITISH  INSTITUTION  181 

but  gave  the  transactions  of  the  Academy  from  1805  to  1809, 
a  list  of  the  public  monuments,  and  an  account  of  the  recently 
established  "  British  Institution."  For  some  reason  which  does 
not  appear,  these  Annals  were  discontinued,  and  it  was  not  until 
1859  that  the  series  of  Annual  Reports  from  the  Council  to  the 
General  Assembly,  which  are  now  regularly  issued,  was  begun. 

The  British  Institution  just  mentioned  was  founded  in  1805, 
"  for  promoting  the  Fine  Arts  in  the  United  Kingdom,"  by  a 
number  of  distinguished  amateurs,  with  the  purpose  of  "  encourag- 
ing Art  by  exhibitions  of  both  living  and  deceased  artists,  by 
buying  pictures,  and  by  giving  premiums."  A  project  of  a 
similar  character  had  been  advocated  by  Benjamin  West  two  or 
three  years  before,  to  be  called  "  a  National  Association  for  the 
encouragement  of  works  of  dignity  and  importance  in  Art,"  and 
he  had  applied  to  Pitt  and  others  for  Government  support ;  and 
Martin  Archer  Shee,  in  his  Rhymes  on  Art,  had  done  the  same, 
but  the  times  were  not  just  then  propitious.  The  idea, 
however,  eventually  bore  fruit  in  the  foundation  of  the  British 
Institution  under  the  patronage  of  George  III.,  a  patronage  not 
extended  until  the  king  had  been  convinced  by  West  that  there 
was  no  intention  in  any  way  of  interfering  with  the  objects  of 
the  Royal  Academy.  The  founders  subscribed  a  sum  of  nearly 
;£8ooo,  purchased  Boydell's  Shakespeare  Gallery  in  Pall  Mall, 
and  opened  their  first  exhibition  in  January  1806.  Subse- 
quently, two  exhibitions  were  held  annually,  one  of  works  for 
sale  by  modern  artists  in  the  early  part  of  the  year,  and  the 
other  a  loan  exhibition  of  works  by  old  masters.  A  school  was 
also  instituted  to  which  students  were  admitted  for  the  purpose 
of  copying  the  old  pictures  lent,  and  prizes  were  also  given  for 
original  works  both  in  painting  and  sculpture ;  and  from  time  to 
time  at  a  subsequent  period  the  founders  purchased  pictures  and 
presented  them  to  the  national  collection.  In  1870  the  Institu- 
tion practically  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the 
trustees  remained  idle  till  1885,  when  they  were  handed  over  to 
the  Charity  Commissioners,  who  drew  up  a  scheme  for  founding 


182        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

and  maintaining  scholarships  for  young  British  artists  to  be 
called  "  British  Institution  Scholarships."  The  loan  exhibitions 
of  old  masters'  works  were  taken  up  and  continued  by  the  Royal 
Academy. 

Another  institution  founded  in  1 805  was  what  was  known  as 
the  "  Old  Society  of  Water- Colours,"  now  the  "  Royal  Society  of 
Painters  in  Water-Colours."  Water-colour  painters  felt  that 
their  works,  which  had  not  then  the  solid  rich  colouring  now 
in  vogue,  suffered  by  comparison  with  oil-painting,  and  they 
decided  on  forming  a  Society  which  should  exhibit  nothing  but 
water-colour  drawings  exclusively  by  its  own  members.  It  began 
its  career  in  some  rooms  that  Van  der  Gutch  the  engraver  had 
built  in  Lower  Brook  Street,  and  after  moving  first  to  Bond 
Street  and  then  to  Spring  Gardens,  finally  settled  in  its  present 
abode  at  Pall  Mall  East. 

The  foundation  of  the  Dulwich  Picture  Gallery  is  men- 
tioned in  the  account  given  of  its  donor  Sir  Francis  Bourgeois, 
who  died  in  1811.  In  addition  to  the  pictures  which  he  had 
inherited,  subject  to  Mrs  Desenfans'  life  interest,  from  the 
picture  dealer  Noel  Desenfans,  he  left  ;£  12,000  for  the  purposes 
of  the  Gallery.  This  amount  was  supplemented  during  her 
lifetime  by  Mrs  Desenfans  with  £6000,  and  the  Gallery  was 
completed  and  opened  in  1814,  just  before  her  death.  In  her 
will  was  the  following  clause : — " ....  And  whereas  it  was  the 
intention  of  Sir  Peter  Francis  Bourgeois  to  direct  that  the 
President  and  Academicians  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts 
should  be  invested  with  the  power  of  ascertaining  from  time  to 
time  that  the  collection  of  pictures,  frames,  and  prints  bequeathed 
by  him  to  the  Master,  etc.,  of  Dulwich  College  was  properly 
preserved  and  kept,  and  for  that  purpose  that  the  President  and 
Academicians  should  be  requested  to  visit  the  collection  once  in 
every  year  on  St  Luke's  Day,  and  give  their  opinion  as  to  the 
state  and  preservation  of  the  same,  and  that  on  their  annual 
visit  a  dinner  be  given  to  them  in  the  gallery  at  Dulwich  College. 
Now,  approving  as  I  do  of  the  propriety  of  such  annual  visitation, 


DULWICH  PICTURE  GALLERY  183 

and  being  desirous  of  carrying  into  effect  the  intention  of  my 
said  dear  friend,  I  give  and  bequeath  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
pounds  to  the  said  Master,  Warden,  and  Fellows  of  Dulwich 
College,  upon  trust  to  invest  the  same  in  Government  or  real 
securities  at  interest,  and  apply  the  interest  to  arise  therefrom  for 
ever,  towards  the  entertainment  of  the  President  and  Acade- 
micians ;  and  in  order  that  the  said  annual  dinner  may  be 
properly  and  suitably  given,  I  do  hereby  bequeath  the  following 
articles  to  the  Master,  etc.,  of  Dulwich  College,  which  I  direct 
shall  be  preserved  by  them  and  never  be  used  on  any  other 
occasion  for  any  other  purpose  whatsoever.  .  .  ."  And  then 
follows  a  list  of  the  articles,  including  silver,  glass,  cutlery,  linen, 
china,  etc.  The  first  of  the  dinners  thus  provided  for  was  given 
on  1 8th  July  1818,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  sumptuous  affair, 
costing  considerably  more  than  one  year's  income  from  the 
bequest,  but  this  scale  was  not  maintained  every  year,  more 
modest  entertainments  being  substituted.  The  custom  still 
continues,  and  every  summer  the  President  and  Council  pay  a 
visit  of  inspection  to  the  Gallery,  and  are  hospitably  entertained, 
the  entertainment  in  late  years  having  taken  the  more  modern 
if  less  sociable  form  of  a  garden  party. 

Immediately  on  the  completion  of  the  Gallery  the  authori- 
ties of  the  College  requested  the  advice  of  the  Academy  as 
to  its  arrangement  and  management,  and  offered  to  grant 
facilities  to  the  students  for  studying  and  copying  the 
pictures.  It  was  decided  that  the  best  way  of  accomplishing 
the  latter  object  would  be  for  a  certain  number  of  pictures 
to  be  lent  to  the  Academy  from  time  to  time,  to  be 
copied  by  the  students,  and  accordingly  for  this  purpose  the 
Academy  instituted  a  School  of  Painting,  the  schools  up  to  this 
period  having  consisted  only  of  an  Antique  School  and  a  School 
of  Drawing  from  the  living  model.  The  new  school  was  opened 
on  8th  January  1816  with  a  curator  and  visitors,  as  in  the 
Drawing  School.  Many  changes  have  taken  place  in  this 
school  since  that  date,  and  at  the  present  time  copying  old 


184        THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN  WEST 

pictures  forms  a  very  small  part  of  its  curriculum,  but  the  loan 
of  pictures  from  the  Dulwich  Gallery  still  continues,  and  is  looked 
upon  as  a  valuable  privilege.  There  was  a  short  break  in  the 
custom  for  a  few  years,  the  Governors  of  the  College  having 
decided  in  1867  to  discontinue  it  and  to  substitute  a  day  in  the 
week  on  which  the  students  should  study  in  the  Gallery.  The 
Academy,  however,  did  not  see  its  way  to  avail  itself  of  this 
alternative,  and  happily,  in  1878,  the  old  arrangement  was 
reverted  to.  It  may  be  added  that  in  the  Scheme  (1882)  now  in 
force  of  the  Charity  Commission  for  the  administration  of 
Dulwich  College  and  the  Picture  Gallery,  provision  for  the 
preservation  and  custody  of  the  pictures  and  works  of  art  is  to 
be  made  by  the  Governors  "  with  the  sanction  of  the  President 
and  Council  of  the  Royal  Academy " ;  and  that  the  expenses 
of  management  include  "those  of  the  annual  visitation  as 
directed  by  the  will  of  Margaret  Desenfans."  By  the  scheme, 
too,  one  of  the  Governors  is  nominated  by  the  President  of  the 
Royal  Academy. 

It  is  significant  of  the  estimation  in  which  the  Academy 
was  held  that  in  1798  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury 
requested  its  aid  in  the  preparation  of  designs  for  a  new  coinage, 
and  the  General  Assembly  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare 
drawings  and  models,  and  to  discuss  the  matter  with  the 
representatives  of  the  Government. 


CHAPTER  XII 

BENJAMIN   WEST  AND   THE   ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED 
DURING  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

THE  second  President  of  the  Academy  and  the  fifty-five  artists 
elected  during  his  tenure  of  the  office  now  claim  our  attention. 
Of  these  fifty-five,  forty  reached  the  rank  of  Academician, 
including  two  future  Presidents,  Lawrence  and  Shee,  with 
whom,  however,  it  is  not  proposed  to  deal  till  the  period  of 
their  election  to  that  office  is  reached. 

BENJAMIN  WEST,  P.R.A. 

The  election  of  a  successor  to  Reynolds  was,  as  those 
who  have  followed  the  course  of  these  chapters  will  readily 
acknowledge,  a  thing  by  no  means  easy.  Men  like  Reynolds 
make  the  task  of  their  successors  unpleasant,  and  the  Academy 
acted  wisely  and  selected  the  only  possible  man  in  Benjamin 
West,  who  was  one  of  the  foundation  members  of  the  body  ;  he 
was  in  high  favour  at  court,  he  was  universally  respected,  and  all 
the  geniuses  being  dead,  he  became  eligible  as  perhaps  the  most 
eminent  in  a  secondary  rank. 

He  came  of  a  family  which  traced  its  descent  from  the  Lord 
Delaware  who  fought  under  Edward  III.  and  the  Black  Prince. 
It  was  settled  at  Long  Crendon,  in  Buckinghamshire,  and  in  the 
seventeenth  century  produced  Colonel  James  West,  who  was  a 
friend  and  companion  in  arms  of  John  Hampden.  Buckingham- 


186       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

shire,  at  that  period,  was  the  headquarters  of  the  Quakers ;  all 
their  chiefs,  Fox,  Penn,  Burrough,  Penington,  Ellwood,  and 
Whitehead,  were  natives  of  the  county,  and  in  the  dismal 
persecutions  which  followed  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  Conformity, 
the  gaols  of  Aylesbury,  Wycombe,  and  Uxbridge  were  filled 
with  stubborn  sectarians  whose  indictment  rested  solely  on  the 
grounds  that  they  refused  to  take  an  oath  or  to  take  their  hats 
off. 

At  the  side  of  a  by-road  near  the  village  of  Seer  Green, 
equidistant  between  Chalfont  and  Beaconsfield,  there  stands  a 
square  unpretentious  and  also  very  ugly  building  ;  before  it  is  a 
lawn  trimly  kept,  and  behind  it  are  beech  and  cherry  whose 
crimson  and  orange  leaves  in  late  autumn  flutter  downwards,  and 
bestrew  the  graves  ranged  in  long  rows,  where  sleep  the  earliest 
fathers  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  It  is  known  as  Jordan's 
Burial  Ground,  and  is  still  revered  by  the  remnant  of  that  once 
numerous  sect  as  their  Kaaba,  their  most  sacred  temple. 

West's  family  became  Quakers.  John  West,  the  father  of 
the  President,  accompanied  William  Penn  on  his  first  voyage  to 
America,  and  on  his  second  transported  himself  with  his  family, 
determined  never  more  to  suffer  persecution  for  conscience'  sake 
so  long  as  there  was  a  wilderness  where  the  savages  were  unruly 
only  in  carnal  matters.  How  it  fared  with  them  there  we  know 
not  precisely.  They  seem  to  have  been  comfortable  and  well- 
to-do.  Mrs  West  had  borne  nine  children  to  her  husband,  and 
when  the  tenth  came  into  the  world,  the  parents  christened  him 
Benjamin,  in  the  hope  probably  that  he  would  be  the  last,  a  hope 
which  was  happily  fulfilled.  As  the  boy  grew  up  he  ran  about 
the  settlement  with  others  of  his  age,  he  picked  hickory  nuts,  eat 
corn-cobs,  and  learnt  to  understand  the  speech  of  the  red  men 
round  about.  Those  wild  fellows  would  often  come  in  to  barter 
skins  for  weapons  and  fire-water,  and  it  is  said  that  when  his 
propensity  for  drawing  had  shown  itself,  it  was  from  a  band  of 
Cherokees  that  he  learnt  how  to  prepare  red  and  yellow  ochre 
for  painting  with.  When  he  visited  Rome  years  later,  and  was 


WESTS  BIRTH  AND  ANCESTRY  187 

shown  the  Apollo  Belvidere,  he  exclaimed,  "  It  is  a  Mohawk 
warrior  " ;  which  exclamation  is  suggestive  of  a  great  deal  that 
might  have  been,  but  which  was  not  unfortunately. 

The  aborigines  of  America  have  always  been  treated  sub- 
jectively ;  with  one  class  of  writers  they  are  the  type  of  unsullied 
humanity,  brave,  generous,  and  eloquent ;  with  another  they  are 
skulking,  thievish,  drunken  rascals ;  and  we  have  no  longer 
materials  for  judging  between  these  two  opinions.  In  West's 
day  the  great  Five  Nations  were  still  flourishing  :  the  Delawares, 
Mohawks,  Hurons,  Algonquins,  and  Iroquois.  They  styled 
themselves  Leni  Lenappe,  the  men  of  men,  and  from  all  testi- 
mony we  must  suppose  them  to  have  been  a  race  apart,  nobler 
and  more  civilised  than  the  Prairie  Indian ;  but  they  have  passed 
away,  and  no  vestige  of  them  remains.  The  crouching  figure  in 
West's  picture  of  the  "  Death  of  General  Wolfe,"  and  those  in 
his  "  Treaty  of  Penn  with  the  Indians,"  are  the  only  authentic 
representations  extant  which  can  give  us  information  of  the 
aspect  of  this  bygone  people.  Catlin  came  later,  when  the  Five 
Nations  were  scattered,  and  he  deals  only  with  Prairie  Indians. 

Does  it  not  appear  that  here  was  a  great  opportunity  wasted, 
an  opportunity  for  historical  painting  in  the  strictest  sense  of 
the  word  ?  What  more  beautiful  or  interesting  subject  could  an 
artist  desire  than  those  naked  Mohawk  warriors,  graceful  as  the 
sons  of  Latona  ?  But  they  have  been  permitted  to  pass  away 
without  a  record,  and  the  one  man  who  could  have  left  us  that 
record,  who  knew  them  and  had  lived  amongst  them,  preferred 
to  follow  the  beaten  track  which  had  been  trod  by  hundreds 
before  him.  On  the  evidence  of  three  or  four  of  his  pictures,  we 
know  that  West  could  paint  admirably  things  which  he  had 
seen,  and  it  is  vexatious  to  find  him  wasting  his  talent  and  his 
time  in  trying  to  paint  things  which  he  had  not  seen  and  was 
powerless  to  imagine. 

West  was  born  on  loth  October  1738,  at  which  time  European 
immigrants  were  only  settled  on  the  verge  of  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board. Behind  them  was  the  primeval  forest,  still  teeming  with 


188       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

mystery  and  romance ;  and  young  Benjamin,  if  he  wandered 
abroad,  must  often  have  found  himself  in  a  forest  glade  where 
the  sunlight  glinted  down  between  the  parted  stems  of  hickory 
and  maple,  and  have  seen  there,  like  a  bronze  statue,  the  figure 
of  some  wild  native  of  the  woods,  a  Cherokee  or  Mohawk,  with 
eagle  plumes  drooping  from  his  shaven  crown,  his  eyes  alert, 
and  his  sinewy  arm  grasping  a  bow  or  tomahawk.  What  an 
education  was  there  for  a  painter ;  and  if  we  can  imagine  such  a 
creature  as  a  Hawthorne  in  painting,  what  a  world  of  mystery, 
of  weird  interest,  would  he  have  cast  around  that  primeval 
forest  and  its  wild  denizens  !  But  West  had  nothing  of  the  poet 
in  him.  He  had  all  the  outward  seeming  of  a  native-born 
genius,  and  in  the  little  world  of  Springfield,  Pennsylvania,  was 
looked  upon  as  such.  He  hid  himself  in  lofts,  and  painted 
pictures  with  brushes  made  of  hair  filched  from  poor  pussy,  his 
mother's  pet  cat,  and  these  strange  ways  invested  his  person 
with  respectful  interest.  A  certain  Peckover,  at  a  prayer- 
meeting,  had  felt  so  powerful  a  visitation  of  the  Spirit,  that  the 
thunders  of  his  oratory  and  the  terrors  of  his  prophetic  denun- 
ciations had  brought  West's  mother  prematurely  to  bed ;  and 
the  preacher  prophesied  that  the  child  born  under  such  unusual 
circumstances  would  be  invested  with  an  unusual  show  of  grace, 
and  turn  out  a  very  remarkable  man.  A  high-wrought  condition 
of  spiritual  excitement  naturally  brings  with  it  a  belief  in 
prophecy,  as  in  the  case  of  Savonarola ;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  Quakers,  who  left  their  country  and  their  homes 
to  settle  in  the  wilderness  for  conscience'  sake,  were  in  such  a 
high-wrought  condition. 

When  West's  parents  were  hesitating  as  to  the  propriety  of 
allowing  their  son  to  follow  his  bent  and  become  a  painter,  they 
summoned  a  meeting.  After  a  lapse  of  silence  a  certain 
Williamson  spoke,  and  declared  his  conviction  that  though  an 
unusual  calling  for  a  Friend,  the  boy  ought  to  be  a  painter. 
This  was  looked  upon  as  an  authoritative  message  from  the 
Spirit ;  the  case  was  settled,  and  he  was  formally  dedicated  to 


WESTS  EARLY  LIFE  189 

the  profession.  He  was  then  presented  with  two  books,  the 
only  volumes  he  had  ever  seen  besides  his  Testament — Du 
Fresnoy's  Art:  of  Painting  and  Jonathan  Richardson's  Essay 
on  Painting — two  books  which,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  are 
closely  connected  with  Reynolds,  who  annotated  the  one,  and 
was  moved  to  become  a  painter  by  reading  the  other. 

In  course  of  time  West  was  sent  to  Italy  to  study,  where  he 
was  well  received,  and  looked  upon  as  a  wonder.  There  was  a 
combination  of  novel  attractions  about  him  which  were  no  doubt 
very  fascinating.  He  was  a  good-looking  youth,  and  a  Quaker 
who  would  not  take  his  hat  off  even  in  the  presence  of  Princes  ; 
he  showed  an  uncommon  talent  for  painting,  had  come  from  the 
wilds  of  America,  and  knew  all  about  Cherokees  and  Mohawks. 
A  certain  mendicant  improvisatore  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact,  and  who  judged  his  man  shrewdly,  as  such  folk  do, 
lauded  him  to  the  skies  in  extempore  verse,  and  prophesied 
that  he  would  become  the  greatest  painter  of  his  age.  This 
fortuitous  and  unsolicited  corroboration  of  Peckover's  testimony 
was  very  satisfactory  to  the  young  Quaker,  who  looked  upon 
himself  thenceforth  as  predestined  to  greatness  ;  he  certainly 
possessed  talent  which  might  have  carried  him  very  far,  had 
other  ingredients  of  his  mind  been  either  more  liberally  supplied 
or  more  carefully  assorted. 

He  came  to  England  in  1763,  apparently  with  no  view  of 
settling  there,  but  his  star  was  in  the  ascendant,  he  was  intro- 
duced to  the  young  king,  George  III.,  who  took  a  liking  to 
him  ;  West's  Quaker  sedateness  and  gravity,  the  unimpeachable 
correctness  of  his  principles,  found  ready  sympathy  with  the 
virtuous  monarch,  a  sympathy  which  was  not  likely  to  be 
disturbed  by  a  little  general  dulness.  West  was  induced  to 
settle  in  London,  and  for  nearly  thirty  years  occupied  much  the 
same  position  at  the  Court  of  St  James's  as  Velasquez  did  at  that 
of  Madrid,  with  the  exception  of  the  deadly  Aposentadorship. 
Of  course  he  was  the  object  of  envy,  and  consequently  of  calumny  ; 
Wilson  growled  and  Barry  fumed,  and  even  the  great  Reynolds 


190       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

is  said  to  have  been  nettled  and  to  have  complained,  or  allowed 
his  friends  to  complain  for  him,  that  though  he  had  the  painting 
of  Church  and  State,  that  of  Royalty  belonged  exclusively  to 
West.  West  planned  a  cycle  of  great  works,  many  of  which  he 
executed  for  the  king.  Nothing  came  amiss  to  him ;  from 
Edward  the  Black  Prince  to  the  Recording  Angel,  he  was  equal 
to  them  all.  He  was  commissioned,  at  his  own  request,  to 
illustrate  "  Revealed  Religion  "  in  a  series  of  great  works  for  the 
king's  chapel  at  Windsor,  and  would  indeed  have  undertaken 
to  illustrate  anything  on  earth  below  or  in  heaven  above,  so 
strong  was  his  belief  that  his  imagination  was  equal  to  any  task, 
whether  it  was  to  depict  the  battlefields  of  Crecy  and  Poitiers 
or  the  supernal  grandeurs  of  the  Apocalypse  ;  and  yet  he  could 
do  nothing  but  what  he  had  seen,  and  that  he  could  do  supremely 
well.  His  "  Death  of  General  Wolfe,"  his  "  Treaty  of  Penn  with 
the  Indians,"  his  "Battle  of  La  Hogue "  and  the  "Quaker 
Family,"  which  must  be  a  beautiful  picture,  but  which  we  know 
only  from  engravings,  are  works  of  a  very  high  order  of  merit. 
He  tells  his  story  clearly  and  with  probability ;  at  the  same  time 
his  design  is  rich  and  imposing,  his  drawing  truthful  and  severe, 
and  his  execution  precise  and  scholarly  in  a  high  degree.  All 
the  rest  of  his  works,  scriptural,  historical,  and  allegorical,  only 
deserve  to  be  forgotten,  a  consummation  which  they  have  pro- 
bably already  attained.  This  infirmity  of  his  judgment  went  on 
increasing,  as  the  scale  of  his  works  went  on  expanding,  with 
advancing  years.  The  "  Christ  healing  the  Sick,"  in  the  National 
Gallery,  which  is  painted  on  a  canvas  9  feet  high  by  14  feet  wide, 
represents  the  medium  size  which  he  affected  when  only  sixty- 
four  years  of  age,  and  was  far  exceeded  later  on  in  his  life. 

Of  what  strange  stuff  are  mortals  made !  and  what  is  this 
passion,  disease,  or  mania  which  we  call  ambition?  and  how 
shall  it  be  regulated  ?  On  the  one  hand  it  is  the  special  attribute 
of  great  men,  and  the  means  which  lifts  them  to  greatness ;  on 
the  other  it  is  the  ruin  and  the  stumbling-block  of  fools ;  it  is 
light  and  it  is  darkness ;  to  some  it  is  the  beacon  which  guides 


WESTS  PATRONAGE  BY  GEORGE  III.     191 

them  surely  on  their  course ;  to  others  it  is  night  which  over- 
takes them  and  makes  them  wander  from  their  road,  as  in  the 
case  of  Benjamin  West.  We  are  judging  by  the  wisdom  which 
comes  after  the  event ;  during  his  lifetime  he  especially,  and  his 
contemporaries  partially,  thought  differently  ;  there  was  no  sign 
of  remonstrance,  and  his  professional  career  was  uniformly 
successful  as  long  as  the  king  retained  his  reason.  In  1801, 
when  the  first  symptoms  of  his  malady  showed  themselves,  there 
was  a  temporary  cessation  of  West's  pension  and  employment ; 
when  the  king  recovered  he  was  told  "  to  set  to  work  again,"  but 
it  was  not  for  long.  After  the  death  of  Princess  Amelia,  dark- 
ness and  chaos  settled  over  the  good  king's  wits.  As  Thackeray 
says,  "  All  light,  all  reason,  all  sound  of  human  voices,  all  the 
pleasures  of  this  world  of  God  were  taken  from  him,"  and  West's 
occupation  was  gone.  The  fallen  favourite,  as  is  the  way  of  the 
world,  was  attacked  and  slandered.  The  press  joined  issue  with 
him  on  his  emoluments,  endeavouring  to  prove  that  he  had 
plundered  the  king  to  the  amount  of  ^"34,000 ;  to  which  he 
answered,  calmly  and  triumphantly,  that  he  had  indeed  received 
money  amounting  approximately  to  that  sum,  but  it  was  earned 
by  thirty-three  years  of  untiring  labour. 

It  is  curious  to  think  of  West's  intercourse  with  George  III., 
at  whose  court  etiquette  and  all  humdrum  observances  were  most 
rigorously  insisted  on.  Did  he  keep  his  hat  on,  as  he  had  done 
before  the  Duke  of  Parma,  or  did  he  imagine  that  he  had 
received  a  special  dispensation  from  the  Spirit,  which  gave  him 
liberty  to  consult  his  worldly  interests  and  to  conform  to  general 
usage  in  the  interests  of  high  Art?  On  this  point  we  can 
arrive  at  no  information  from  biographers.  Perhaps  he  may 
have  thought  that,  because  in  the  community  of  Springfield,  in 
consequence  of  prophecies  and  the  signs  of  genius  which  he 
showed,  he  had  been  allowed  to  relax  the  strict  rigour  of  Quaker 
tenets,  he  was  therefore  free  to  set  their  observances  at  naught 
whenever  they  interfered  with  his  prospects.  On  these  points, 
as  we  have  said,  we  know  nothing,  but  certainly  in  West's  letters 


192       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

and  in  his  utterances  recorded  by  his  friend  Gait,  there  is  no 
trace  of  "  thee  "  and  "  thou  "  or  of  other  Quaker  mannerisms. 

Benjamin  West  was,  as  we  have  said,  elected  President  of 
the  Royal  Academy  in  March  1792,  and  held  the  office  with  a 
short  interval  till  1820.  On  his  election  the  Duke  of  Gloucester 
called  upon  him,  to  intimate  to  him  that  the  king  was  desirous 
of  conferring  the  honour  of  knighthood  upon  him.  His  answer 
is  remarkable,  as  coming  from  a  man  of  fifty-four,  and  as  show- 
ing that  in  all  those  years,  and  with  his  opportunities,  he  had 
not  succeeded  in  picking  up  either  tact,  adroitness,  or  knowledge 
of  the  world.  He  wanted  a  baronetcy  and  a  pension,  failing 
which  he  would  have  been  glad  of  knighthood,  but  he  played 
his  cards  so  badly  that  he  got  neither. 

Allan  Cunningham  says  that  "  he  was  the  first  and  last 
President  of  our  Academy  who  found  spelling  a  difficulty  "  ;  and 
he  also  cynically  implies  that  West,  by  a  certain  sedateness  and 
gravity  of  manner  which  came  of  his  Quaker  training,  and  by 
observing  a  prudent  silence,  gained  a  reputation  for  latent 
wisdom,  which  he  would  have  sacrificed  had  he  been  loqua- 
cious. He  was  certainly  a  benevolent,  generous  man,  but  he 
was  utterly  colourless,  unless  we  accept  a  strong  infusion  of 
vanity  as  giving  him  a  characteristic  tint ;  he  was  cold  and 
passionless,  and  succeeded,  probably  without  any  difficulty,  in 
living  up  to  the  virtuous  and  altruistic  platitudes  with  which  his 
mind  was  stored 

As  President,  he  appears  to  have  been  on  the  whole  decidedly 
popular ;  he  was  suave,  and  worried  no  one,  though  on  one 
occasion,  as  recorded  in  the  last  chapter,  he  displayed  a  sad  lack 
of  discretion  and  temper.  He  was  very  popular,  too,  among 
artists  generally,  as  he  was  always  ready  to  advise,  and,  when 
the  occasion  arose,  to  assist  with  his  purse. 

When  he  went  to  Paris  after  the  peace  of  Amiens  to  see  the 
Musee  Napoleon,  he  lost  his  head  slightly ;  he  lauded  Buona- 
parte to  the  skies,  who,  like  the  improvisatore  he  had  met  in  his 
youth,  had  shrewdly  guessed  the  way  to  take  him.  On  his 


ROBERT  SMIRKE  193 

return  he  was  either  conscious  that  he  had  made  a  fool  of  himself, 
or  he  imagined  that  others  thought  so ;  this,  coupled  with  the 
fact  that  at  the  annual  election  on  loth  December  1804,  onty 
twenty  votes  were  given  for  him,  as  against  seven  for  James 
Wyatt,  the  architect,  caused  him  to  resign  the  Presidency, 
whereupon  Wyatt  was  elected  to  succeed  him,  but  Wyatt's 
election  was  never  formally  approved  by  the  king,  and  in  the 
following  year,  1 806,  West  was  re-elected,  and  continued  to  hold 
office  till  his  death  on  the  I  ith  of  March  1820. 

The  story  which  is  told  of  what  happened,  according  to  some 
at  the  election  of  1803,  and  according  to  others  at  that  of  1806, 
viz.,  that  Fuseli  voted  for  Mary  Moser,  or  rather,  as  she  then 
was,  Mrs  Lloyd,  on  the  ground  that  "one  old  woman  was  as 
good  as  another,"  is  ben  trovato  but  non  vero,  as  there  is  no 
record  in  the  Academy  minutes  of  any  vote  having  ever  been 
recorded  for  that  lady  at  the  annual  presidential  election. 

West  was  buried  in  St  Paul's,  his  grave  being  in  the  crypt 
near  that  of  Reynolds.  His  body  lay  in  state  at  Somerset 
House,  and  the  arrangements  for  the  funeral,  which  took  place 
on  the  1 9th  of  March,  were  the  same  as  for  that  of  his  illustrious 
predecessor. 

ROBERT  SMIRKE,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Wigton,  near  Carlisle,  in  1752.  He  became  a 
student  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1772,  and  four  years  after- 
wards commenced  his  long  career  as  an  exhibitor.  It  has  been 
said  that  "  all  Smirke's  pictures  are  of  an  imaginative  character, 
and  the  subjects  generally  selected  from  the  Scriptures,  Shake- 
speare, Cervantes,  the  Arabian  Nights,  etc."  These  have 
frequently  been  the  sources  of  works  of  an  "imaginative 
character,"  even  unto  this  day.  We  are  not  aware  ot  any 
peculiarly  imaginative  quality  with  which  Smirke  succeeded 
in  heightening  the  works  he  selected  for  illustration,  and,  indeed, 
we  are  bound  to  confess  ourselves  somewhat  ignorant  of  his 

N 


194       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

pictures.  We  know  him  by  engravings  after  his  works,  and 
even  there  we  find  it  difficult  by  an  act  of  memory  to  differentiate 
his  contributions  to  periodical  illustration  from  those  of  Westall, 
Liverseege,  and  others,  all  of  which  seem  grouped  together, 
forming  a  distinct  category.  They  belong  to  a  period  prior  to 
that  when  archaeology  became  a  handmaid  of  painting.  The 
fundamental  tenets  by  which  they  were  guided  in  the  matter  of 
costume  seem  to  have  been,  that  all  Europeans  whatsoever,  who 
lived  before  the  eighteenth  century,  wore  knee-breeches,  padded 
round  the  loins,  and  that  all  Asiatics  wore  dressing-gowns  and 
slippers.  In  an  age  which  above  all  things  craves  for  accuracy, 
we  may  be  excused  if  we  demur  that  this  rule  must  have  had 
exceptions. 

Smirke  was  elected  Associate  in  1791,  and  Royal  Acade- 
mician 1793.  In  1804  he  was  elected  Keeper  in  place  of 
Wilton,  but  the  king  objected  to  the  nomination,  because  of 
Smirke's  ultra-radical  principles  in  politics,  and  he  was  not 
installed.  The  entry  in  the  minutes  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  20th  November  1804,  reads  thus:  "The  President  then 
produced  the  Paper  he  had  presented  to  His  Majesty  informing 
him  of  the  election  of  Robert  Smirke,  Esq.,  to  the  office  of 
Keeper  of  the  Royal  Academy,  to  which  His  Majesty  was 
pleased  to  write  as  follows :  '  Rejected,  must  proceed  to  a  New 
Election.' "  Smirke  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety-three,  and  died 
in  1845. 

SIR  PETER  FRANCIS  BOURGEOIS,  R.A. 

Sir  Peter  Francis  Bourgeois,  who  was  of  Swiss  descent,  was 
born  in  London  in  1756.  His  father  was  a  watchmaker  in  St 
Martin's  Lane.  The  accident  of  a  picture  dealer  named  Noel 
Desenfans  coming  to  lodge  in  his  father's  house,  seems  to  have 
influenced  him  in  the  choice  of  the  arts  as  a  profession. 

In  1776  Bourgeois  travelled  on  the  Continent,  and  went  to 
Poland,  carrying  letters  of  introduction  from  Desenfans  to  King 


SIR  FRANCIS  BOURGEOIS  195 

Stanislas,  who  conferred  on  him  the  knighthood  of  the  Order  of 
Merit,  and  this  honour  was  subsequently  confirmed  to  him  by 
King  George  III.  On  his  return  to  England  he  practised  his 
profession,  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1787  and  an  Acade- 
mician in  1793.  He  painted  landscapes  in  the  style  of  De 
Loutherbourg,  whose  pupil  he  had  been,  and  when  we  have 
subtracted  from  the  art  of  De  Loutherbourg  what  invention 
and  imagination  he  possessed,  and  all  his  technical  dexterity, 
it  leaves  us  but  a  poor  residuum  wherewithal  to  furbish  forth  an 
eulogium  of  that  of  Bourgeois. 

But  if  not  remarkable  as  a  painter,  Bourgeois  is  noteworthy 
to  us  as  the  donor  of  the  Dulwich  collection.  The  visitors  who 
frequent  that  Gallery  are  probably  little  mindful  of  the  storms 
which  drifted  those  Art  treasures  into  their  present  haven.  To 
account  for  their  presence  there,  they  would  have  to  search 
backwards  into  troublous  times,  to  the  days  of  the  Great 
Frederick  of  Prussia  and  the  partition  of  Poland.  Their  history 
is  curious  and  mysterious.  They  were  purchased  for  Stanislas 
Poniatowsky,  the  last  King  of  Poland,  by  the  picture  dealer  of 
whom  we  have  already  spoken,  Noel  Desenfans.  Stanislas  seems 
to  have  supplied  certain  sums  of  money  for  this  purpose,  but  he 
does  not  appear  either  before  or  after  his  abdication  to  have 
claimed  the  pictures,  and  they  remained  with  Desenfans,  and 
were  left  by  him  at  his  death,  in  1 804,  to  his  friend  Bourgeois, 
who  bequeathed  them  to  Dulwich  College,  together  with  a  sum 
of  £10,000  to  build  and  keep  in  repair  a  gallery  for  them  and 
£2000  to  provide  for  the  care  of  them.  The  gallery  was  built 
by  Sir  John  Soane  in  1812,  and  the  remains  of  Bourgeois,  who 
died  of  a  fall  from  his  horse  in  1811,  and  of  Desenfans  were 
buried  in  a  chapel  attached. 

An  account  of  the  connection  of  the  Academy  with  the 
Dulwich  Gallery  is  given  in  Chapter  XL 


196       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

THOMAS  STOTHARD,  R.A., 

was  the  most  eminent  English  painter  of  the  eighteenth  century  in 
the  department  of  historical  painting ;  eminent,  that  is,  not  in  the 
sense  that  he  was  the  most  widely  celebrated  or  the  most  richly 
rewarded,  but  because  he  exhibited  the  most  genuine  inspiration 
and  the  widest  knowledge  of  the  resources  of  his  art. 

His  life,  written  by  Mrs  Bray,  should  be  a  very  instructive 
book,  though  it  is  not  presumably  an  entertaining  one.  There 
is  something  in  the  nature  of  the  material  which  would  have 
presented  insuperable  obstacles  to  writers  more  gifted  and  more 
sparkling  than  Mrs  Bray.  The  contemplation  of  undeviating 
regularity,  of  scrupulous  probity,  of  thrift,  industry,  perseverance, 
and  of  talent  triumphing  over  obstacles,  is  probably  the  highest 
gratification  of  the  perfect  mind  ;  but  it  fails  unfortunately  to 
touch  the  heart-strings,  to  arouse  to  music  the  subtle  chords  of 
sympathy,  in  the  hearts  of  ordinary  mortals. 

Stothard  was  born  in  London  in  1755.  His  father  kept  an 
inn  in  Long  Acre,  under  the  sign  of  the  "  Black  Horse,"  and 
continued  to  exercise  that  industry  until  his  son  had  attained 
the  age  of  fourteen,  when  he  was  called  away,  leaving  his  widow 
and  young  Stothard  a  sum  of  money  barely  sufficient  for  their 
maintenance.  The  boy's  share,  Mrs  Bray  informs  us,  was 
£1700,  upon  the  interest  of  which  he  contrived  for  years  to 
subsist  He  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  pattern  drawer  for 
brocade  silks  at  Spitalfields,  but  that  employment  failed  him 
after  a  year,  and  he  tried  his  hand  at  drawing  illustrations  in 
the  Toivn  and  County  Magazine.  Whether  by  luck  or  good 
guidance  the  round  peg  had  fallen  into  the  round  hole,  and 
from  that  date  until  that  of  his  death,  he  never  lacked  employ- 
ment as  an  illustrator.  There  are  five  large  folio  volumes  in 
the  library  of  the  Royal  Academy  filled  with  engravings  after 
his  designs ;  they  are  mostly  adapted  to  an  octavo  volume, 
and  show  great  versatility.  His  contemporary  Chodowiecky, 
in  Germany,  was  filling  every  publication  of  his  day  with 


THOMAS  STOTHARD  197 

exquisitely  dainty  engravings,  which  are  the  delight  of  all 
students  of  costume,  and  though  we  are  not  informed  of  the 
fact  that  Stothard  was  acquainted  with  the  productions  of  a 
German  artist  who  was  his  senior  by  some  years,  the  internal 
evidence  points  strongly  to  the  fact.  Admitting  it  to  be  the 
case,  Stothard  is  still  the  better  man ;  though  he  was  far  behind 
Chodowiecky  in  artistic  accomplishment,  in  scholarly  drawing, 
and  in  truth  to  nature  generally,  he  possessed  what  the  other 
had  not,  an  elevation  of  sentiment,  and  a  sense  of  beauty.  To 
him  had  been  given  "  Spiritum  Graiae  tenuem  Camenae,"  and 
that  raised  him  far  above  his  rival. 

In  1777,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  some  years  after  he  had 
commenced  work  as  an  illustrator,  Stothard  became  a  student 
at  the  Royal  Academy,  and  exhibited  his  first  picture,  "  Ajax 
defending  the  dead  body  of  Patroclus,"  in  the  following 
year. 

His  pictures  possess  all  the  qualities  of  his  designs,  but  our 
enjoyment  of  them  is  marred  by  a  certain  sense  of  luridness 
and  over-lusciousness  in  colour.  It  would  have  been,  perhaps, 
more  judicious  on  his  part  had  he  introduced  the  greys  of 
nature,  as  a  touch  of  sordid  earth,  as  a  foothold  to  give  stability 
and  probability  to  his  ideal  figures ;  as  it  is  they  float  in  the 
regions  of  fancy,  and  of  such  abstract  beauties  as  those  of 
crimson  and  orange,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  in  this  age 
they  are  too  far  removed  from  realism  to  be  popular.  But  his 
art  is  not  cold  and  pedantic  as  is  that  of  West,  it  is  warmed  by 
a  genuine  touch  of  inspiration,  it  is  never  commonplace  or  vulgar, 
and  always  graceful  ;  we  are  tempted  to  say,  if  it  is  unreal,  so 
much  the  worse  for  the  state  of  things ;  that  is  the  way  they 
should  be.  Stothard's  life  was  too  good  for  the  most  of  us,  but 
he  lived  it,  and  we  know  that  he  followed  a  true  ideal  as  far  as 
that  was  concerned ;  may  he  not  have  been  equally  well  inspired 
in  his  art  ? 

The  details  of  Stothard's  life  are  soon  summed  up:  like 
nations,  he  was  happy  in  leaving  no  annals.  Very  early  in  his 


198       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

life  he  bought  a  house,  No.  28  Newman  Street,  out  of  the 
profits  of  his  earnings  as  an  illustrator,  and  the  interest  on 
£1700.  There  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1834.  Thither  in  a 
very  calm  and  sedate  manner  he  introduced  his  bride,  Rebecca ; 
there  he  laboured  unceasingly  in  a  room,  which  in  these  days 
of  palatial  studios  would  appear  little  better  than  a  garret,  and 
built  up  a  reputation  which  we  are  inclined  to  think  will  never 
quite  cease  to  be,  however  times  and  manners  may  change,  or 
fashion  shift  her  motley  garb. 

Stothard  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1791,  and  a  Royal 
Academician  in  1794.  In  1814  he  succeeded  Burch  as  Librarian, 
and  held  that  office  until  his  death.  The  design  hitherto  in  use 
on  the  reverse  of  the  gold  medals  awarded  by  the  Royal  Academy 
is  from  a  drawing  by  Stothard. 


RICHARD  WESTALL,  R.A., 

like  many  other  artists,  owes  his  name  and  place  to  the  fact  that 
he  contrived  to  supply  a  demand  which  arose  in  the  circum- 
stances of  his  time.  He,  no  doubt,  often  engrossed  his  mind 
with  the  conception  of  great  works  in  painting,  and  occasionally 
essayed  to  give  his  dreams  reality,  but  these  things  he  found  of 
no  avail,  and  he  became  by  the  necessities  of  the  times  an 
illustrator  of  books,  such  as  Crabbe's  Poems,  Moore's  Loves 
of  the  Angels.  He  also  executed  several  of  the  designs  for 
Boydell's  Milton  and  Shakespeare  galleries,  and  a  series  of 
illustrations  of  the  services  of  the  Church  of  England.  As  we 
have  said  in  the  notice  of  Smirke,  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  contemporaries.  Naturalism,  in  England  at  least, 
was  not  the  spirit  of  his  age,  and  it  is  difficult  now  to  be  judicial, 
to  affirm  that  Westall  had  more  grace  of  a  conventional  kind  or 
more  grandeur  in  certain  prescribed  conditions  than  others ;  to 
us  they  appear  all  alike  in  their  artificiality.  Their  lines  all  flow 
in  obedience  to  the  same  imperious  demand  for  elegance  ;  there 


JOHN  HOPPNER  199 

is  no  contrast,  no  rest  to  the  aesthetic  faculty,  it  is  surfeited  and 
tired  out. 

Westall  was  born  at  Hertford  in  1765,  and  after  being 
apprenticed  to  an  engraver  on  silver,  entered,  in  1785,  the 
schools  of  the  Royal  Academy.  He  was  elected  Associate  in 
1792,  and  Royal  Academician  in  1794,  the  same  year  as  his 
friend,  Lawrence  (Sir  Thomas),  with  whom  he  lived  for  many 
years  at  a  house  in  Soho  Square.  Perhaps  his  chief  title  to  fame 
is  that  he  gave  drawing  lessons  to  Queen  Victoria  in  her  early 
youth.  He  died  on  4th  December  1836. 

JOHN  HOPPNER,  R.A., 

was  born  in  London  in  1758.  He  bore  his  mother's  name,  and 
in  his  childhood  toddled  about  the  passages  and  corridors  of  St 
James's  Palace,  where  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  little  chance 
person.  He  became  a  student  of  the  Royal  Academy  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  and  when  he  started  on  his  career  as  portrait 
painter,  he  found  timely  little  streams  of  patronage  flowing  in 
which  made  matters  tolerably  smooth  for  him.  Eventually,  he 
became  fashionable,  and  divided  the  town  with  Lawrence,  as 
Romney  had  done  with  Reynolds.  He  was  elected  Associate 
in  1793,  and  R.A.  in  1795,  and  lived  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  in  Charles  Street,  St  James's,  where  he  died  in  1810,  at  the 
early  age  of  forty-nine. 

With  regard  to  Hoppner's  merits  as  a  painter,  what  we  have 
said  before  holds  good  here,  the  art  of  the  English  portrait 
painters  of  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  peculiar 
and  unlike  any  other,  its  features  are  very  salient  and  easily 
recognisable.  It  is  very  dignified,  demure,  and  sober,  and  also 
rich  and  mellow.  If  we  try  to  judge  of  it  by  the  standard  of 
Bronzino,  Raphael,  Titian,  Rubens,  and  Van  Dyck,  we  shall 
not  estimate  it  fairly,  and  this  process  would  be  more  par- 
ticularly damaging  to  the  art  of  Hoppner.  He  takes  his 
place,  justly,  as  we  think,  amongst  the  four  great  masters 


200       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

of  the  early  English  school.  Reynolds  is  at  the  head  of  it, 
Gainsborough  towers  on  another  eminence,  after  them,  come 
Romney  and  Hoppner ;  we  leave  our  readers  to  adjust  the 
balance  between  them. 


SAWREY  GILPIN,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Carlisle  in  1733.  He  was  sent  to  London  with  a 
view  to  a  business  career,  but  soon  abandoned  it  for  Art,  and  in 
1849  became  the  pupil  of  Samuel  Scott  the  marine  painter.  His 
inclination,  however,  led  him  to  choose  animals  for  his  subjects, 
and  especially  horses.  Of  this  branch  of  his  work  his  diploma 
picture  is  a  good  example.  The  scenery  in  which  his  horses  are 
depicted  is  said  to  have  been  often  the  work  of  George  Barret, 
R.A.,  for  whose  landscapes  he  provided  the  animals,  while 
Zoffany  is  credited  with  some  of  the  figures.  He  was  elected  an 
Associate  in  1795,  at  the  ripe  age  of  sixty-two,  and  an  Acade- 
mician in  1797,  dying  ten  years  afterwards,  in  1807. 


SIR  WILLIAM  BEECHEY,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Burford,  in  Oxfordshire,  in  1753,  and  began  life, 
some  say  as  a  house  painter,  others  as  articled  clerk  to  a 
solicitor.  While  serving  his  time  in  London,  he  became 
acquainted  with  some  Academy  students,  and,  deserting  the 
law,  himself  entered  the  schools  in  1772.  In  1791  he  went  to 
Norwich,  and  remained  there  four  or  five  years,  painting 
portraits  chiefly.  Returning  to  London,  he  soon  obtained  con- 
siderable patronage  and  celebrity  as  a  fashionable  portrait 
painter,  and  was  much  in  favour  at  the  Court. 

He  displayed  qualities  in  his  art,  which,  had  public  apprecia- 
tion been  guided  more  by  prescriptive  canons  than  by  the 
fascinations  of  colour  and  rich  tone,  would  have  raised  him  to  a 
much  higher  rank  than  he  now  holds.  He  was  a  deft,  thoughtful, 


rr   M\     /. 


4?y 


x^ 

(O  TVCU^L€ 


SIR  WILLIAM  BEECHEY  201 

and  scholarly  painter,  but  his  work,  compared  with  Reynolds  and 
others,  looks  thin  and  meagre. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1793,  and  Academician  in 
1798,  in  which  year  he  was  knighted  by  George  III.  He  died 
in  1839,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six. 


HENRY  TRESHAM,  R.A., 

owed  both  his  birth  and  his  artistic  education  to  Ireland.  He 
came  to  England  in  1775,  and  subsequently  spent  fourteen  years 
abroad,  chiefly  at  Rome,  becoming,  thanks  to  his  studies  of  the 
antique  and  of  the  Old  Masters,  one  of  the  most  correct  draughts- 
men of  his  day,  though  his  colouring  left  much  to  be  desired. 
He  also  wrote  poetry,  but  we  do  not  know  that  his  poetry  has 
lived  more  than  his  painting.  Soon  after  his  return  to  England 
he  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1791,  and  was  raised  to  the  full 
rank  of  an  Academician  in  1799.  An  account  of  his  claim  to 
take  his  seat  on  the  Council,  and  of  the  subsequent  proceedings 
in .  connection  with  this  claim  is  given  in  Chapter  XI.  In 
1807,  he  was  chosen  Professor  of  Painting  in  succession  to  Opie, 
but,  owing  to  failing  health,  only  held  the  office  for  two  years. 
His  death  took  place  in  1814. 

THOMAS  DANIELL,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Kingston-on-Thames  in  1749,  and  became  a  student 
at  the  Royal  Academy  in  1773.  His  earliest  efforts  were  as  a 
painter  of  heraldry,  and  also  of  landscape  scenery,  but  in  1784 
he  went  to  India  with  his  nephew,  William  Daniell,  then  a  boy 
of  fourteen — who  himself  afterwards  became  a  member  of  the 
Academy — and  the  two,  for  ten  years,  travelled  over  and  sketched 
the  country  from  Cape  Comorin  to  the  Himalayas.  Soon  after 
his  return,  in  1796,  Thomas  Daniell  was  elected  an  Associate, 
and  in  1799  an  Academician.  The  results  of  the  uncle's  and 
nephew's  labours  were  published  in  1807  in  a  work  of  six 


202       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

volumes,  called  Oriental  Scenery.  Daniell,  who,  after  his  visit 
to  India,  seldom  painted  anything  but  Indian  subjects,  lived  to 
the  great  age  of  ninety-one,  dying  on  iQth  March  1840. 


Here  ends  the  roll  of  Academicians  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  With  the  nineteenth  there  began  an  entirely  new 
phase  of  British  Art.  The  portraitists  still  clung  to  the  tradi- 
tions inherited  from  Reynolds  and  Gainsborough,  but  illustrated 
them  with  less  depth  and  richness,  and  also,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, with  less  invention  and  spontaneity.  In  every  other 
department,  in  lieu  of  the  severe  restraint  imposed  upon  them- 
selves by  the  earlier  school,  we  find  a  widespread  tentativeness, 
a  diffuseness,  and  a  tendency  to  explore  new  fields,  which 
eventually  brought  about  what  modern  French  critics  recognise 
as  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  the  English  school  —  that  is,  its 
personal  character,  and  its  entire  independence  of  all  schools 
and  traditions. 

Surveying  British  Art  from  the  imaginary  standpoint  of  the 
year  1800,  we  see  little  splendour  or  attractiveness  in  what  is 
known  as  history,  genre,  or  figure  painting,  in  our  immediate 
foreground.  There  is  a  long  dreary  interval  on  which  no  light 
is  shed  save  by  luminaries  of  a  low  order  of  magnitude,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  we  see  landscape  painting  attaining  a  splendour 
and  brilliancy  such  as  was  never  seen  before.  In  this  depart- 
ment, and  out  of  grimy,  smoky  London,  there  arose  an  epoch- 
making  artist,  who  set  his  seal  on  the  art  for  ever  as  the  master 
of  space,  light,  and  atmosphere.  With  his  name  and  that  of 
Flaxman  the  roll  of  Academicians  in  the  nineteenth  century 
made  no  unworthy  beginning. 

JOHN  FLAXMAN,  R.A. 

The  annalist  of  Art  is  perforce  occupied  for  the  most  of 
his  time  with  the  uninteresting  degrees  of  talent  and  accomplish- 
ment which  have  been  exhibited  by  masters  of  a  school.  The 


JOHN  FLAXMAN  203 

geniuses,  when  he  comes  to  them,  are  like  plums,  and  he  has 
often  to  complain  that  they  are  so  few  compared  to  an  intolerable 
amount  of  pudding.  But  he  finds  the  short  history  of  British 
Art  perhaps  more  thickly  studded  than  any  other ;  native-born 
geniuses  are  neither  few  nor  far  between  ;  and  among  them, 
as  far  as  gifts  of  nature  are  concerned,  must  be  placed  John 
Flaxman. 

The  birth  into  the  world  of  an  artistic  genius  is  so  rare 
and  momentous  an  event  that  it  would  seem  becoming  and 
grateful  to  take  him  as  we  find  him,  and  not  to  criticise 
overmuch.  But  there  is  a  disturbing  reflection  connected  with 
British  Art  which  will  slide  in  and  mar  our  self-satisfaction. 
At  the  christening  of  every  great  British  artist  there  seems  to 
have  been  a  crabbed  old  fairy  godmother,  or  a  crabbed  old  fairy 
who  was  not  asked  to  be  a  godmother,  who  threw  in  a  gift 
which  undid  the  benefit  of  all  the  rest;  she  seems  to  have 
muttered  to  herself,  "  Yes,  you  are  a  genius  of  the  first  order, 
but  because  you  have  offended  me,  I  will  see  to  it  that  you 
don't  make  the  most  of  that  genius." 

Hogarth  was  a  born  painter,  with  a  wonderfully  dramatic 
imagination,  but  he  wilfully  and  perversely  refused  to  see  the 
merit  of  the  great  painters  of  the  past,  and  starved  his  genius 
in  consequence.  Reynolds  had  supreme  gifts  and  a  mighty 
hand,  he  cited  Michael  Angelo  as  the  ultimate  culmination  of 
artistic  greatness,  and  so  did  others  of  his  contemporaries. 
Gainsborough,  inspired  as  perhaps  none  other  ever  was  by 
nature,  spoke  of  Van  Dyck  as  having  attained  to  apotheosis. 
In  quite  recent  times,  again,  we  have  had  Alfred  Stevens, 
the  sculptor  of  the  Wellington  Memorial,  who  also  placed 
the  great  Florentine  sculptor,  painter,  and  architect  on 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  fame.  These  men  all  had  genius, 
and  yet  neither  national  prejudice  nor  vanity  can  tempt 
a  reasonable  critic  to  credit  them  with  supreme  achieve- 
ment. Their  allusion  to  Michael  Angelo  is  especially  unfor- 
tunate, as  it  seems  to  point  out  the  weak  point  in  our  national 


204      ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

genius.  Everybody  must  be  impressed  by  the  grandeur  of  his 
style  and  the  sublime  transports  of  his  imagination  ;  but  these 
alone  would  not  have  sufficed  to  make  the  Michael  Angelo  we 
know  and  recognise.  He  was  the  man,  of  all  others,  that  ever 
lived,  who  took  his  art  most  seriously,  who  was  most  untiring 
in  his  observation  and  investigation,  who  penetrated  the  most 
profoundly  into  all  the  capabilities  of  his  art,  who  understood 
and  could  discriminate  the  individual  and  the  typical,  and  who 
could  imitate  nature  with  the  greatest  knowledge  and  subtlety. 
To  arrive  at  this  he  paid  a  price  which  no  British  artist  unfor- 
tunately seems  to  have  been  willing  to  pay,  and  the  excellencies 
of  our  school,  though  striking  and  brilliant,  are  not  free  from 
the  reproach  of  falling  short  of  attainable  perfection  :  in  other 
words,  of  the  taint  of  superficiality. 

We  have  been  led  into  these  discomforting  reflections  by 
finding  ourselves  immediately  face  to  face  with  the  task  of 
tracing  the  career  of  John  Flaxman,  who  was  both  one  of  the 
most  gifted  and  the  most  superficial  of  British  artists.  Mr 
Sidney  Colvin  has  justly  said  of  him  that  he  was  a  natural 
classicist ;  he  loved  in  his  heart,  and  was  truly  inspired  by  the 
severity,  simplicity,  and  grace  of  Grecian  Art ;  though  it  would 
be  more  precise  to  say,  of  the  art  of  Praxiteles  and  his  followers, 
for  with  Phidias,  the  greatest  of  the  Greeks,  he  seems  to  have 
had  little  or  no  spiritual  kinship.  This  may  have  been  partly  the 
fault  of  his  time :  for  though  Flaxman  was  an  original  genius 
he  was  strictly  of  his  time.  In  his  age,  or  at  all  events  in  the 
age  immediately  preceding  him,  though  there  had  been  infinite 
talk  on  the  sublime,  there  had  been  little  evidence  of  it  in  Art, 
which  seldom  got  beyond  the  graceful  and  elegant.  One  is 
tempted  to  think  that  the  virtuosi  and  cognoscenti  of  that  period, 
the  Beaumonts,  Walpoles,  and  others,  who  talked  so  volubly, 
did  not  really  understand  what  was  grand  and  impressive  in 
Art ;  it  is  difficult  on  any  other  supposition  to  account  for  their 
toleration  of  the  gingerbread  Gothic  of  Arlington  Street  and 
Strawberry  Hill.  Many  of  the  mannerisms,  such  as  the  attenu- 


FLAXMAN'S  ART  205 

ated  grace,  the  long  ogival  curves,  which  are  so  wearisome  in 
the  works  of  Cipriani,  Angelica  Kauffman,  and  West,  reappear 
in  Flaxman,  but  they  are  so  beautifully  balanced  and  harmon- 
ised that  they  do  not  offend  ;  the  worst  that  can  be  said  of 
them  is  that  they  somewhat  emasculate  his  art,  and  that  in  the 
midst  of  graceful  and  voluptuous  curvature  we  are  made 
occasionally  to  sigh  for  a  little  ruggedness  and  angularity. 

But  the  personality  of  the  artist  had  no  doubt  more  to  do 
with  this  than  the  influence  of  his  time.  Flaxman's  was  not 
a  strong,  vigorous  nature;  he  was  a  gentle,  loving,  and  pious 
creature,  who  had  been  rickety  and  sickly  in  his  childhood,  and 
had  remained  delicate  and  frail  all  his  life.  We  are  quite  aware 
that  we  are  treading  on  dangerous  ground,  and  that  there  may 
be  no  natural  connection  between  physical  vigour  and  a 
masculine  intellect.  We  have  seen  the  spectacle  of  Pope,  as 
someone  somewhere  said  of  him,  quivering  in  every  nerve, 
and  yet  penning  the  savage  and  scathing  sarcasms  of  the 
Dunciad ;  but  for  all  that,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  imagine  a 
Mirabeau  writing  the  poems  of  Maurice  de  Guerin.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  Flaxman  was  most  successful,  and  touched  nearer 
to  greatness,  when  his  theme  naturally  called  forth  a  pensive 
and  peaceful  frame  of  mind  ;  as,  for  instance,  in  his  monumental 
effigies,  where  he  represented  the  grief  of  parents  and  orphans, 
and  the  pious  resignation  of  Christians,  or  in  his  drawings  in 
such  scenes  as  the  "Sleep  and  Death,"  and  "Thetis  and  the 
Nereids " ;  and  he  failed  when  he  attempted  the  heroic  vein, 
most  signally  in  his  drawings  where  he  depicted  the  righting 
heroes  of  Grecian  mythology,  straddling  and  frowning  feroci- 
ously at  each  other  over  the  rims  of  their  monstrous  shields. 
In  the  drawing  of  "  Prometheus  bound  to  the  Rock,"  there  is 
more  of  melodramatic  exaggeration  than  of  real  grandeur 
and  impressiveness ;  his  Prometheus  struggles  violently  with 
his  captors,  as  the  unfortunate  king  of  France  struggled  with 
his  executioners.  Flaxman  was  a  long  way  from  raising  him- 
self to  the  sublimity  of  Shelley's  Titan,  who  when  taunted  by 


206        ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

the  messenger  of  Jove  with  the  length  of  years  he  would  have 
to  suffer  torments,  answered  proudly,  "  Perchance  no  thought 
can  count  them,  yet  they  pass." 

The  estimation  in  which  he  is  held,  both  in  his  own  country 
and  abroad,  rests  entirely  on  his  merits  as  a  designer,  on  the 
beauty  and  novelty  of  his  compositions,  and  on  the  graceful 
combination  of  his  lines  and  masses.  As  a  sculptor,  that  is,  as 
one  who  practised  the  art  of  representing  the  human  form, 
he  falls  immeasurably  below  the  completeness  which  is 
attained  by  perhaps  half-a-dozen  men  in  every  exhibition  of 
the  Paris  Salon.  He  skimmed  the  mere  surface  of  the  sculptor's 
art.  His  form,  his  anatomy,  his  proportion,  although  all  right 
so  far  as  they  go,  stop  short  at  a  certain  point,  beyond  which 
he  could  not  step  for  want  of  closer  study.  It  is  vexatious  to 
see  a  powerful  genius  failing  to  attain  to  the  highest  excellence 
for  want  of  what  mediocrity  has  at  its  command. 

Much  of  Flaxman's  work  has  been  lost  to  the  world.  He 
was  as  one  who  wrote  his  tablets  on  the  sea  sand,  and  the  tides 
have  effaced  them.  For  many  years  he  was  engaged  in  fashioning 
the  beautiful  cameo-like  reliefs  which  adorn  Wedgwood's  pottery. 
To  admire  that  ware  heartily,  with  a  whole  mind,  is  not 
altogether  possible.  There  is  something  spurious  about  its 
undoubted  charm.  Its  interest  is  like  that  of  the  scrap-book, 
which  is  not  admired  for  its  text,  its  type,  or  its  binding,  but 
for  the  little  pictures  which  have  been  collected  together  from 
all  sorts  of  sources.  It  is  too  artificial,  finicking,  and  minute 
for  application  to  the  purposes  of  pottery.  It  was  at  one  time 
in  fashion,  and,  like  many  other  things,  went  out  of  it  again. 
The  careless  housemaid  has  been  in  all  ages  responsible  for 
much  destruction  of  crockery,  and  the  specimens  of  Henry  II. 
pottery  extant  may  have  dwindled  into  the  column  of  units 
they  now  occupy  by  passing  through  generations  of  housemaids' 
hands,  but  in  the  case  of  Wedgwood,  it  is  said,  that  it  was  at 
one  time  and  of  malice  prepense  cast  into  the  Philistine  dust- 
bins of  a  former  generation,  and  with  it  no  doubt  perished  many 


FLAXMAN'S  HOME  LIFE  207 

beautiful  memorials  of  Flaxman's  genius.  But  luckily  the  rage 
of  the  collector  has  come  to  the  rescue,  and  like  posthumous 
fame,  "  penna  metuente  solvi,"  it  will  save  what  is  left  for  the 
admiration  of  future  generations. 

John  Flaxman  was  born  in  York  in  1755,  but  only  six 
months  after  his  birth  his  father  removed  to  London,  and 
opened  a  shop  as  a  figure-moulder  in  New  Street,  Covent 
Garden.  The  plaster-cast  man  is  the  lineal  descendant  of  the 
image  maker  of  the  Middle  Ages,  whose  workshop  was  the 
nursery  of  so  many  artists,  and  frail,  rickety  little  John  Flax- 
man, propped  up  in  a  chair  in  his  father's  workshop,  a  chair 
from  which  he  could  only  toddle  away  with  the  help  of  crutches, 
sat  there  drinking  in  Art  impressions  when  other  children  of 
his  age  were  only  playing  with  marbles  which  were  not  of  the 
classical  sort.  There  is  a  strong  air  of  the  marvellous  in  what 
we  read  of  his  early  history.  A  certain  Mr  Matthew  finding 
him  drawing  and  modelling  in  the  intervals  of  reading  Homer, 
and  his  notice  being  attracted,  as  it  well  might  be,  by  such  a 
phenomenon,  takes  him  into  his  house,  where  there  is  a  talented 
and  accomplished  Mrs  Matthew.  We  must  presume  that  the 
boy's  first  acquaintance  with  Homer  was  through  a  crib,  but 
Mr  and  Mrs  Matthew,  we  are  informed,  did  succeed  by  their 
united  encouragement  and  assistance  in  enabling  him  to  read 
with  facility  Virgil,  Homer,  and  even  ^Eschylus  in  the 
original. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  admitted  as  a  student  into  the 
schools  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  his  connection  with  Wedg- 
wood appears  to  have  begun  soon  after.  He  gained  the  silver 
medal  for  a  design  in  sculpture,  but,  quite  contrary  to  his 
expectations,  was  defeated  by  Thomas  Engleheart  in  the  com- 
petition for  the  gold  medal,  the  subject  of  which  was  Ulysses 
and  Nausicaa. 

In  1782  Flaxman  was  married  to  Ann  Denman,  and  removed 
from  his  father's  house  to  27  Wardour  Street.  On  this  occasion 
Reynolds,  like  the  confirmed  old  bachelor  that  he  was,  told  him 


208        ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

that  he  was  ruined  as  an  artist,  a  mere  delusion  which  has  been 
shared  by  others.  On  the  question  of  matrimony  or  celibacy 
as  best  for  the  artist,  the  balance  of  reasoning  pro  et  con  should 
be  in  favour  of  the  blessed  state,  seeing  that  it  is  conducive  to 
a  quiet  domestic  life,  and  we  have  it  on  the  authority  of  Goethe, 
that— 

"  Es  bildet  ein  Talent  sich  in  der  Stille, 
Ein  charakter  in  dem  Strom  der  Welt." 

The  experiment  in  the  case  of  Flaxman,  at  all  events,  was 
eminently  successful,  as  Ann  Denman  proved  herself  a  sympa- 
thising and  helpful  partner  of  his  life,  though  the  determined 
misogynist  might  object  that  the  experiment  in  his  case  was 
not  carried  to  its  usual  disastrous  consequences,  for  no  children 
were  born  to  them. 

In  1787  the  Flaxmans  migrated  to  Rome,  where  they  so- 
journed till  1794.  The  peaceful  annals  of  an  artist's  life  draw 
the  mind  away  from  wars  and  strife ;  we  think  of  Flaxman  in 
Rome  drawing  his  designs  from  Homer,  Dante,  and  jEschylus, 
and  executing  his  groups  of  Athamas  and  Cephalus  and  Aurora  ; 
and  it  does  not  occur  to  us  to  think  that  the  world  was  all 
ablaze  behind  him  the  while,  that  kings,  principalities,  and 
powers  were  being  piled  as  on  a  huge  holocaust,  and  going  up 
into  the  skies  in  smoke  and  shrieking  and  lamentation.  When 
the  earnest,  pious  little  sculptor  left  his  home  in  England,  the 
kingdom  of  France  was  in  its  death  throes,  and  when  he 
returned,  it  was  dead  ;  and  there  was  to  be  seen  daily  one  of 
the  most  gruesome  spectacles  of  history,  the  famous  Tricoteuses 
seated  at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold,  and  counting  the  heads  as  they 
were  shorn  off.  ^ 

On  his  return  to  London,  Flaxman  settled  himself  in  No.  7 
Buckingham  Street,  Fitzroy  Square,  where  he  seems  to  have 
lived  to  the  end  of  his  life.  In  1797  he  was  elected  an  Asso- 
ciate, and  in  1800  a  full  Academician.  This  was  the  monu- 
mental period  of  his  art  life,  and  as  we  have  said  before,  it 


FLAXMAN  AND  TURNER  COMPARED          209 

was  in  memorial  effigies  to  the  dead  that  he  showed  his 
greatest  originality,  and  attained  to  his  highest  excellence  as  a 
sculptor.  In  this  department  he  set  the  type  ;  such  monuments 
as  those  to  Lady  Baring  in  Micheldever  Church,  and  to  Mary 
Lushington,  in  Lewisham  Church,  would  seem  to  be  the  ideal 
application  of  sculpture  as  introduced  into  a  Christian  temple. 
The  ages  of  innocence,  of  iron,  of  heroes,  all  had  passed  away, 
the  mythology  of  Greece  lingered  only  amongst  the  learned  as 
an  artificial  cultus ;  Flaxman  succeeded  as  no  sculptor  before 
him  or  after  him  ever  succeeded,  in  drawing  a  noble  inspiration 
from  a  living  faith  which  still  held  possession  of  the  hearts  of 
men.  He  showed  this  especially  in  the  lectures  which  he 
delivered  at  the  Academy  as  Professor  of  Sculpture,  a  post  to 
which  he  was  elected  in  1810. 

In  1818  he  returned  to  his  classical  love,  and  sought  for 
inspiration  once  more  in  Helicon.  The  shield  of  Achilles  which 
he  modelled,  faithfully  following  the  description  in  the  eighteenth 
book  of  the  Iliad,  is  truly  a  colossal  monument  of  industry, 
genius,  and  taste.  Its  circumference  is  nine  feet ;  the  circular 
boss  in  the  centre  represents  Apollo  in  his  chariot,  the  "  sol  curru 
nitido,"  who  is  the  central  type  of  the  ancient  conception  of  the 
universe ;  around  him  concentrically  are  arranged  all  the  scenes 
described  by  Homer  as  illustrating  the  polity  of  a  state  and  the 
occupations  of  men. 

In  1820,  the  peaceful  days  of  industry,  bringing  with  them 
their  silent  satisfaction  and  the  uninterrupted  flow  of  accustomed 
comforts,  came  to  an  end  for  him.  His  wife  died,  and  after  that 
event  he  is  described  as  living  more  retired ;  though,  perhaps, 
owing  to  deafness,  he  had  never  sought  society  eagerly.  His 
industry  continued  unabated  for  six  years,  when  the  call  came 
to  him  also.  He  caught  a  cold  on  3rd  December  1826,  and  died 
on  the  9th  in  his  seventy-third  year. 

In  passing,  as  we  are  now  about  to  do,  from  John  Flaxman 
to  J.  M.  W.  Turner,  we  seem  to  be  making  a  prodigious  leap 
which  touches  the  two  extreme  points  of  difference  by  which 

o 


210       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

the  arts  of  sculpture  and  painting  are  separated ;  as  they  each 
of  them  illustrate  in  a  somewhat  exaggerated  degree  the 
qualities  which  are  especially  characteristic  of  those  two 
branches  of  art 

Turner,  the  painter,  loved  to  record  the  aerial,  evanescent, 
and  intangible  features  in  nature,  which  no  science  can  demon- 
strate and  no  art  but  that  of  painting  pourtray.  He  pursued 
this,  his  favourite  theme,  even  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the 
vague  and  unintelligible.  If  it  be  permissible  to  judge  the 
direction  of  prevailing  tendencies  by  the  evidence  of  excesses 
occasionally  committed,  we  must  infer  that,  in  Turner's  mind, 
form,  which  represents  the  concrete  element  of  his  art,  gradually 
lost  its  importance  ;  and  that  his  attention  was  concentrated, 
more  and  more,  on  that  drapery  of  light  and  colour  with  which 
Nature  clothes  her  form,  and  which  corresponds  with  the 
abstract. 

In  the  work  of  John  Flaxman,  on  the  opposite  hand,  we  find 
the  rigidity  and  solidity  which  are  peculiar  to  sculpture  equally 
carried  to  excess ;  his  forms  are  large  and  simple,  but  they  are 
generalised  even  to  meagreness,  and  he  persistently  neglected 
to  render  those  delicate  undulations  of  surface  by  which  the 
sculptor  suggests  colour  and  texture. 

Between  his  art  and  that  of  Turner  can  be  traced  an  infinite 
number  of  gradations  by  which  sculpture  and  painting  have 
approached  each  other,  and  as  instances  of  such  approximation 
may  be  mentioned  the  statues  of  Canova  and  the  pictures  of 
Andrea  Mantegna. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ROYAL    ACADEMICIANS    ELECTED    DURING    THE    PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN  WEST — continued 

JOSEPH  MALLORD  WILLIAM  TURNER,  R.A. 

A  very  momentous  event  in  the  history  of  Art,  and  one  pro- 
bably enacted  in  a  corner,  took  place  in  the  year  1790,  when  an 
unpretentious  and  somewhat  puerile  water-colour  drawing  of 
Lambeth  Palace  was  exhibited  on  the  walls  of  the  Royal 
Academy.  It  was  signed  W.  Turner.  From  that  small 
beginning  uninterruptedly  for  sixty  years  there  followed  a  series 
of  pictures  and  drawings  ;  and  for  fifty  years,  we  may  say  with 
certainty,  they  increased  in  splendour  and  imaginativeness, 
transcending  the  limits  which  previous  conceptions  could  have 
assigned  to  human  versatility  and  invention. 

Of  this  painter,  it  is  perhaps  more  true  than  of  most  others 
that  his  life  is  best  studied  in  his  works.  Walter  Thornbury 
wrote  two  bulky  octavo  volumes  of  Life,  into  which  he 
crammed  every  anecdote  and  saying  of  the  great  man  which  he 
could  collect,  at  a  time  when  many  of  Turner's  friends  and 
acquaintances  were  still  alive,  and  the  result  as  a  biography  is 
not  convincing.  It  fails  to  supply  the  mind  with  the  visual  pre- 
sentment of  an  individual.  We  learn  from  these  volumes  that 
he  was  short  and  thick-set,  with  large  eyebrows  and  piercing 
grey  eyes,  that  his  nose  was  hooked,  his  mouth  compressed,  and 
that  in  middle  life  he  was  tanned  and  weather-beaten  like  a 
sailor,  but  very  little  else  that  we  care  to  know ;  with  his 

211 


212       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

niggardly  ways  and  with  whatever  other  sins  of  omission  or  com- 
mission are  imputed  to  him,  we  have  no  concern.  We  must  be 
satisfied  with  a  vague  and  enigmatical  conception  of  one  of  the 
world's  greatest  painters.  He  was  evidently  a  self-contained, 
taciturn,  and  even  inarticulate  man.  His  industry  was  prodi- 
gious, his  mind  extraordinarily  active,  and  controlled  by  intense 
earnestness  of  purpose  and  loftiness  of  aim,  while  it  was  also 
kept  in  motion  by  the  pressure  of  a  thousand  horse-power  of 
will.  He  shunned  society  to  live  entirely  in  and  for  his  art. 

His  father  was  a  hairdresser,  who  kept  a  small  shop  in 
Maiden  Lane,  Covent  Garden,  and  there  Turner  was  born  on 
23rd  April  1775.  It  is  said  that  the  painter  of  the  "Garden  of 
the  Hesperides  "  and  "  Ulysses  deriding  Polyphemus  "  received 
a  very  rudimentary  education,  and  his  art  training  has  also  been 
made  the  subject  of  some  severe  strictures  by  Mr  Ruskin. 
According  to  him  Turner's  bad  architecture,  in  other  words, 
his  preference  for  the  classical  and  Palladian,  and  his  want 
of  sympathy  with  Gothic,  are  attributed  to  his  studies  under 
Mr  Hardwick  ;  whilst  his  "  meaningless  classical  compositions," 
such  as  his  "  Carthage,"  "  Bay  of  Baiae,"  etc.,  are  traced  to  the 
false  teaching  he  received  in  the  schools  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
with  its  casts  from  the  antique  and  its  classical  traditions.  Mr 
Ruskin  is  sometimes  very  hard  to  please,  especially  when  his 
text  seems  to  require  a  little  smart  satirical  flavouring ;  but  con- 
sidering that  he  has  published  five  bulky  volumes  in  which  he 
proves  to  demonstration  that  Turner's  art  was  based  on  Nature 
more  completely  than  that  of  any  painter  who  ever  lived,  that 
he  had  more  profoundly  studied  her  and  penetrated  more 
deeply  into  her  mysteries,  it  does  seem  a  little  captious,  to  say 
the  least  of  it,  that  he  should  cavil  at  a  slight  amount  of  instruc- 
tion having  been  given  him  in  conventional  ideas,  which  have 
been  universally  accepted  for  centuries. 

It  is  our  opinion  that  in  the  case  of  Turner  the  accidents  of 
fate  and  fortune,  acting  on  a  peculiar  temperament  and  turn  of 
mind,  produced  as  perfect  a  form  of  art  education,  and  one  as 


TURNER'S  EARLY  LIFE  213 

consistently  practical  and  progressive  as  that  enjoyed  by  Raphael 
who  was  the  favoured  nursling  of  fortune  in  that  respect. 

Just  think  of  it.  As  a  child  almost,  in  a  small  back  room  in 
a  dark  slum  of  this  great  city,  we  find  him  engaged  in  copying 
drawings  by  Paul  Sandby  and  others  which  had  been  lent  to 
him.  Then  he  is  sent  to  an  architect's  office,  where  he  is  taught 
perspective  and  the  precise  drawing  which  is  essential  to  that 
branch  of  Art.  Then  in  1789  he  is  admitted  to  the  schools  of 
the  Royal  Academy,  drawing  from  the  antique  and  the  life, 
and  picking  up  advice  and  encouragement  from  the  different 
visitors.  Between  whiles,  to  earn  bread,  he  tints  architectural 
drawings  and  washes  in  skies  and  foregrounds ;  he  is  commis- 
sioned to  make  drawings  of  gentlemen's  country  seats ;  he 
draws  assiduously  on  the  Thames,  Lambeth,  Chelsea,  and 
Greenwich,  training  his  hand  to  precision.  Besides  which  a 
certain  Mr  Munro,  who  possessed  a  fine  collection  of  drawings, 
allows  him,  with  his  friend  Girtin,  to  copy  them  as  they  please. 
What  can  be  more  perfect  ?  He  is  brought  face  to  face  with 
Nature  and  with  Art,  and  even  the  necessity  of  earning  is 
salutary ;  it  teaches  him  not  to  be  dilatory,  to  be  prompt  and 
decided,  to  seize  what  is  important,  and  to  produce  something 
which  shall  look  completed. 

Later  in  his  life  Turner  was  described  by  a  countryman  as 
"  that  short  thick-set  man  with  a  pencil  in  his  hand,"  a  descrip- 
tion which  brings  him  before  us  as  vividly,  physically,  and 
mentally,  as  anything  that  has  been  written  about  him.  He 
wandered  over  Europe  with  that  untiring  pencil  in  his  hand,  up 
and  down  the  great  rivers,  over  the  Alps  into  Switzerland 
amongst  the  snows  and  avalanches,  through  Italy  with  its  rivers 
to  his  loved  Venice,  where  sky  and  water  meet.  He  tossed 
about  in  the  Channel  and  North  Sea  on  board  nameless  smacks 
and  colliers  to  learn  the  trick  of  the  waves,  he  was  in  turns  in 
almost  every  part  of  England,  Wales,  and  Scotland.  Wherever 
he  went  that  pencil,  with  a  deftness  and  certainty  bred  of  con- 
stant practice,  was  tracing  the  forms  of  Nature,  eliminating  as 


214       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

by  instinct  what  was  accidental  and  unimportant,  whilst  it 
recorded  all  that  was  characteristic  and  essential.  This  was 
certainly  fine  training,  but  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  it  was  not 
the  training  that  made  the  Turner.  What  distinguishes  him 
from  every  other  painter  is  that  in  all  his  constant  intercourse 
with  Nature  he  never  for  one  single  instant  forgot  Art.  Every- 
thing he  did,  to  the  hastiest  pencil  scratch,  underwent  transfor- 
mation in  the  doing ;  it  was  disintegrated  and  recombined  into 
an  organic  whole.  In  the  National  Gallery  there  are,  let  us  say, 
many  hundreds  of  sketches  by  him,  and  there  is  not  one  which 
does  not  suggest  the  elements  of  a  completed  picture.  But, 
unfortunately,  in  his  completed  pictures  there  is  not  always  the 
charm  suggested  by  his  sketches  ;  they,  many  of  them,  have  a 
look  of  things  not  taken  au  grand  serieux,  of  canvases  upon 
which  he  amused  himself  by  practising  alterations.  Occasionally, 
as  it  appears  to  us,  he  seems  to  have  been  untrue  to  his  mission, 
and  to  have  sat  down  indolently  and  carelessly  to  multiply  un- 
necessary detail,  and,  moreover,  to  insist  upon  it  with  the 
unmeaning  emphasis  which  belongs  rather  to  tapestry  than 
painting. 

The  first  essential  to  insure  just  and  instructive  criticism  is, 
that  it  be  directed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  artist,  without 
which  his  work  must  be  seen  in  false  and  distorted  perspective  ; 
but  after  making  every  effort  to  align  ourselves  with  Turner,  it 
appears  to  us  that  in  such  pictures  as  the  "Bay  of  Baiae," 
"  Apollo,"  and  the  "  Sibyl "  in  the  National  Collection,  the  result 
does  not  justify  the  means  either  from  the  point  of  view  of 
Nature  or  of  Art.  On  the  other  hand,  such  canvases  as  "  The 
Frosty  Morning,"  "  Spithead,"  "  Crossing  the  Brook,"  "  Ulysses 
deriding  Polyphemus,"  "  The  Old  Ttmeraire?  and  "  The  Build- 
ing of  Carthage,"  are  completely  convincing.  They  are  all 
perfect  and  of  a  piece,  without  a  discordant  feature ;  we  follow 
the  painter's  conception  through  all  intricacies,  and  are  never 
turned  aside. 

These  six  pictures  place  Turner  at  the  head  of  the  landscape 


THE  QUALITIES  OF  TURNER'S  ART  215 

painters  of  all  time.  If  we  indulgently  admit  that  Claude  has 
equalled  or  even  surpassed  them  in  grace  of  form  and  trans- 
parency of  atmosphere,  they  soar  immeasurably  above  him  in 
imaginative  power,  as  they  do  above  Poussin,  Salvator  Rosa, 
Van  de  Velde,  Wilson,  Ruysdael,  Constable,  and  the  modern 
French  school. 

In  describing  the  qualities  of  Art  we  are  forced  to  adopt 
terms  which  refer  to  cognate  sentiments  in  other  departments 
of  thought,  terms  which  are  accepted  as  established  metaphors  ; 
hence  we  speak  of  majesty  and  dignity  as  descriptive  of  certain 
combinations  of  forms,  tones,  and  colours  which  impress  the 
mind  in  a  peculiar  way.  These  qualities  Turner  possessed  in 
the  most  eminent  degree.  Indeed,  he  had  the  faculty  of  invest- 
ing the  face  of  Nature  with  an  aspect  corresponding  with  the 
momentousness,  the  importance,  or  even  the  playfulness  of  the 
subject  he  was  representing  ;  and  his  "  Liber  Studiorum,"  though 
unfortunately  never  completed,  is  still  the  most  varied  record  of 
artistic  adaptability  to  sentiment  which  the  world  has  seen. 
Ruysdael,  in  such  pictures  as  "  The  Windmill,"  "  On  the  Maas," 
and  Corot,  in  his  best  works,  touch  a  deep  note  of  melancholy 
solemnity,  but  that  was  nearly  all  they  gave,  whereas  Turner 
seems  to  play  on  the  whole  gamut  of  human  emotions.  He  is 
so  subtle  that  he  defies  analysis.  Take,  for  instance,  "The 
Frosty  Morning "  and  ask  what  there  is  in  that  picture,  either 
in  what  it  represents,  or  in  the  lines  of  its  composition,  to 
account  for  its  extraordinary  popularity?  Nothing,  so  far  as 
we  can  see,  and  yet  that  picture  in  some  mysterious  way  is 
fraught  with  memories ;  before  it  the  mind  reverts  to  other 
days  and  far-off  scenes :  it  is  as  suggestive  as  those  most 
suggestive  lines — 

"When  icicles  hang  by  the  wall, 
And  Dick  the  shepherd  blows  his  nail." 

And  to  have  achieved  this  in  a  picture  so  simple  indicates  the 
highest  amount  of  imaginative  power. 


216       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

We  do  not  agree  with  all  the  sentiments  expressed  in 
Modern  Painters.  It  was  not  necessary  in  order  to  enhance 
the  fame  of  Turner  to  detract  from  the  true  merits  of  others ; 
but  it  seems  to  us  established  beyond  contention  on  the  evidence 
of  his  life's  work,  that  Turner's  imagination  in  depth,  variety, 
and  scope  far  exceeded  that  of  any  other  landscape  painter. 

If  we  turn  from  imaginative  qualities  to  the  rendering  of 
facts  of  Nature,  to  the  objective  truth  of  representation,  we  seem 
to  see  a  still  greater  interval.  But  here,  to  form  a  just  opinion, 
recourse  must  be  had  more  particularly  to  his  water-colour  draw- 
ings. They  represent  in  an  unbroken  series  the  whole  art  energy 
of  his  life,  and  all  the  phases  of  its  development ;  they  are 
utterly  untouched  by  whatever  circumstances  may  have  turned 
awry  or  thwarted  his  development  as  an  oil  painter.  There 
appears  to  have  been  something  wrong,  either  in  Turner's  theory 
or  practice  as  an  oil  painter.  In  the  National  Collection  there  are 
one  hundred  and  ninety-five  oil  pictures  by  him,  and  it  contains 
a  larger  proportion  of  failures,  of  incongruous,  ill-digested,  bizarre, 
and  obscure  things  than  should  be  with  a  man  of  his  genius. 

But  not  so  with  his  drawings.  There  the  record  of  earnest, 
uninterrupted,  progressive,  and  profoundly  thoughtful  effort  to 
attain  perfection  is  unbroken.  After  the  age  of  twenty  his 
drawings  began  to  show  ever  more  and  more  firmness  and 
accomplishment.  He  was  learning  to  manage  and  co-ordinate 
large  masses,  and  to  give  depth  of  tone,  influenced  evidently  in 
this  latter  respect  by  his  friend  Girtin.  In  1802,  when  he  was 
twenty-seven,  he  executed  a  large  drawing  of  Kilchurn  Castle, 
Loch  Awe,  which  was  re-exhibited  in  the  Winter  Exhibition  of 
the  Royal  Academy  in  1887.  Here  we  find  him  completely 
emancipated  from  all  the  thraldom  of  prescription.  We  find  in 
it  a  mountain  rightly  drawn  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
Art.  He  has  given  the  inclination  of  its  beds,  their  weathering 
and  fissuring  by  the  action  of  water,  the  piling-up  of  detritus  in 
hollows  and  at  its  base ;  the  construction  of  it,  in  fact,  is  made 
apparent,  and  if  we  compare  this  with  the  conglomeration  of 


TURNER'S  WATER-COLOURS  217 

unclassified  matter  which  had  in  previous  Art  done  duty  as  a 
mountain,  we  must  acknowledge  that  it  was  a  creditable  step  in 
advance  for  a  young  man  of  twenty-seven  to  have  made.  From 
that  time  forward  he  never  ceased  in  his  onward  progress,  ever 
analysing  and  observing,  rendering  with  more  and  more  certainty 
and  knowledge  the  forms  of  the  solid  earth,  the  growth  of  trees, 
the  forms  of  water,  of  waves,  torrents,  clouds,  spray,  and  mist, 
delighting  beyond  measure  in  the  glamour  of  flitting  light  and 
shade  which  mists  and  vapours  shed  over  a  landscape,  giving  it 
a  touch  of  mystery  and  indistinctness  which  excite  the  imagina- 
tion like  a  tale  half  told. 

Between  the  years  1816,  when  he  executed  a  beautiful 
series  of  drawings  in  the  West  Riding,  and  in  Richmond  in 
Yorkshire,  to  the  year  1820,  he  attained  the  highest  perfection 
in  the  delineation  of  form.  His  colouring  up  to  this  time  had 
been  subdued,  his  palette  had  been  charged  only  with  pale 
blues,  browns,  greys,  and  olive  greens.  But  after  1820  he 
entered  upon  what  is  known  as  his  second  period.  He  may 
have  said  to  himself  at  that  time,  that  he  had  done  enough 
in  the  way  of  form,  that  there  was  another  world  of  impalpable 
evanescent  beauties,  of  colours  and  reflections,  things  like 
dreams  which  pass  and  go,  leaving  no  trace  behind  them, 
and  these  he  set  to  work  to  record.  Like  Humboldt,  who 
began  his  Kosmos  with  stating  the  elementary  laws  of  physics 
and  ended  with  a  description  of  all  the  most  abstruse  pheno- 
mena of  mind,  Turner  felt  his  Kosmos  would  not  be  complete 
without  the  intangible  dreamy  side  of  nature.  Accordingly, 
after  1820  we  find  him  indulging  in  gorgeous  colouring,  in 
fleeting  effects,  seen  only  at  rare  intervals,  such  as  sunsets 
amongst  cirrous  clouds,  and  mountains  glowing  in  the  last 
rays  of  the  sun.  Amongst  oil  pictures  "Polyphemus"  in  the 
National  Collection  is  a  very  typical  example  of  this  period, 
and  amongst  water-colours  "  Knaresborough "  and  "  Rivaulx 
Abbey."  His  touch  in  water-colours  now  became  easier  and 
lighter,  he  was  less  precise,  often  suggesting  quantity  and 


218       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

detail  by  play  of  colour,  and  the  drawings  of  this  period  in 
which  he  set  himself  simply  to  record  scenes  in  nature  are, 
as  Mr  Ruskin  says,  "faultlessly  magnificent." 

But  it  was  also  the  period  of  extravagancies,  of  composi- 
tions encumbered  with  detail,  and  the  love  of  light  which  was 
growing  upon  him  led  him  into  endless  subtleties  of  gradation 
which  sometimes  injured  the  solidity  and  unity  of  the  effect. 

In  his  later  years  this  desire  for  intensity  of  light  gave 
rise  to  one  of  the  strangest  whims  that  ever  entered  into  a 
painter's  brain,  as  M.  Chesneau  has  pointed  out.  Turner  dis- 
integrated colours  into  their  primary  elements  of  red,  blue, 
and  yellow,  using  these  independently  in  touches  placed  side 
by  side.  His  idea,  no  doubt,  was  that  their  combined  effect 
on  the  retina  would  produce  the  effects  of  white  light.  There 
is  no  denying  the  intense  brilliancy  of  some  of  his  later  works, 
such,  for  instance,  as  "  Phryne  going  to  the  Bath,"  but  it  is 
extremely  questionable  how  far  that  is  owing  to  the  artifice  he 
adopted. 

Reason  and  common  sense  tell  us  that  when  a  painter 
violates  the  impressions  of  nature  generally  received,  he  must 
put  himself  out  of  court,  and  accordingly  we  find  that  Turner's 
later  pictures  are  an  enigma  to  ordinary  mortals.  It  is  quite 
possible  to  those  who  will  it,  and  it  is  very  tempting  to  those 
who  wish  to  be  superfine,  to  see  in  them  transcendent  merit 
which  is  only  revealed  to  the  highest  culture.  We  do  not 
ourselves  profess  to  be  utter  Philistines.  In  his  latest  works, 
even  in  the  wildest  of  them,  we  recognise  a  grand  artistic 
faculty,  but  they  seem  to  us  to  be  faulty,  because  they  insist 
upon  one  quality  at  the  expense  of  all  the  others.  It  is  a 
very  grand  effect,  and  one  which  has  fascinated  all  great 
painters  and  colourists,  when  large  masses  of  light  are  seen  to  be 
defined  and  yet  to  melt  into  one  another ;  but  the  definition 
is  essential ;  without  it  a  picture  merely  represents  the  aspect 
of  primordial  chaos  after  the  first  fiat,  "  Let  there  be  light." 
And  Turner  himself  had,  in  his  second  period,  given  the  most 


TURNER'S  LATER  PICTURES  219 

superb  and  masterly  rendering  of  this  effect,  to  take  one 
instance  out  of  many,  in  his  "  Knaresborough,"  where  the  town 
with  its  ruined  castle  all  aglow  with  full  evening  light,  is 
relieved  against  an  equally  luminous  sky,  while  below  it  is  the 
hill  equally  ablaze,  with  a  white  path,  cattle  and  figures  relieved 
against  it  sharply,  light  telling  against  light,  one  merging  into 
the  other  but  never  losing  itself,  maintaining  its  sharpness 
and  definition.  But  it  is  said,  and  there  seems  a  certain  colour 
of  probability  in  it,  that  late  in  his  life  Turner's  sight  became 
intensely  astigmatic.  In  many  of  his  latest  Venetian  pictures 
and  sketches  there  is  hardly  an  indication  of  a  horizontal  line, 
everything  is  on  the  vertical  principle ;  and  the  inability  to 
discern  horizontal  lines  is  said  to  be  a  symptom  of  astigmatism. 
According  to  Mr  Ruskin,  the  last  picture  Turner  painted 
with  quite  undiminished  powers  was  "  The  Fighting  Temeraire 
towed  to  her  Last  Berth."  That  grand  old  ship,  which  had 
stood  the  stress  and  the  piled-up  agony  of  so  many  hours  of 
doubtful  strife,  has  ended  her  career  and  is  going  to  be  broken 
up.  Her  past  glories  are  sinking  with  the  setting  sun,  and  the 
coming  night  is  already  above  the  horizon.  It  is  a  picture  typical 
of  Turner's  own  career  ;  he  too  had  fought  as  none  else  had 
done,  and  this,  his  last  great  effort,  is  tinged  with  the  glory 
of  a  gorgeous  sunset.  In  some  respects  it  is  the  most  splendid 
of  his  works,  not  technically,  perhaps,  but  imaginatively.  It 
appears  to  focus  all  his  views  on  Art,  to  explain  and  account 
for  many  aberrant  strivings.  It  is  not  given  even  to  an  intel- 
lect like  Turner's  to  command  and  control  the  wayward  flights 
of  a  great  imagination,  but  in  this  picture  of  the  "  Fighting 
Temeraire  "  we  see  the  complete  synthesis,  the  union  of  objec- 
tive truth  with  sentiment,  which  is  the  underlying  effort  of  his 
life's  work. 

Turner,  in  the  early  part  of  his  career,  lived  with  his  father 
the  hairdresser  in  Maiden  Lane,  Covent  Garden,  but  in  1793 
his  address  in  the  catalogues  is  changed  to  Hand  Court, 


220       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

Maiden  Lane,  where  he  continued  until  after  his  election  as 
Associate  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1799,  when  he  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age.  The  Royal  Academy  was  evidently  not 
slow  in  recognising  his  genius,  as  we  find  that  only  three  years 
after  he  was  elected  full  Academician,  and  in  1807  Professor  of 
Perspective.  His  first  trip  abroad,  which  resulted  in  Lord 
Yarborough's  beautiful  picture  of  the  "  Vintage  of  Macon,"  was 
made  in  1802,  the  year  of  his  election.  In  1800  he  moved  to  64 
Harley  Street ;  the  year  after  to  75  Norton  Street,  Portland  Road ; 
and  in  1804  back  again  to  64  Harley  Street.  In  1812  he  bought 
the  house  in  Queen  Anne  Street.  From  1809  to  1811  in  addi- 
tion to  his  London  address  he  gives  also  West  End,  Upper  Mall, 
Hammersmith;  and  from  1814  to  1826  he  had  a  country  house 
at  Twickenham,  which  he  called  Sandycombe  Lodge. 

In  1851  Turner  was  missed  from  his  accustomed  haunts,  he 
appeared  no  more  at  the  meetings  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
which  he  had  always  regularly  attended,  and  he  had  dis- 
appeared from  his  house  in  Queen  Anne  Street.  All  his  life 
through  he  had  encompassed  himself  with  mystery,  and  had 
let  none  know  of  his  goings  to  and  fro ;  but  on  this  occasion  as 
his  health  was  known  to  be  breaking  there  was  a  great  anxiety 
amongst  his  friends,  and  his  faithful  old  housekeeper,  Mrs 
Ellen  Danby,  was  in  great  trepidation.  By  accident  a  clue  to 
his  whereabouts  was  discovered,  and  he  was  found  dying  in 
a  small  cottage  in  Chelsea,  where  he  had  been  known  by  the 
name  of  Booth.  Such  was  the  end  of  this  remarkable  man,  un- 
questionably one  of  the  great  geniuses  in  Art,  the  select  few 
who  can  be  enumerated  on  the  fingers  of  your  hands. 

He  was  buried  with  much  pomp  and  circumstance  in  St 
Paul's  Cathedral,  on  the  3rd  December  1851,  and  a  statue 
was  erected  to  his  memory,  with  a  sum  of  money  which  he 
bequeathed  in  his  will  for  that  purpose.  Of  this  will  itself  we 
shall  speak  presently. 

Thornbury  says  that  Turner  in  his  youth  was  disappointed 
in  a  love  affair,  and  that  this  event  cast  a  gloom  upon  his  life ; 


TURNER'S  FRIENDSHIPS  221 

he  became  a  blighted  being,  with  no  hope  on  this  side  of  the 
grave,  or  on  the  other,  and  drifted  into  an  "entangled  and 
ill-thought-out  existence." 

Ruskin  puts  his  case  differently.  t(  Imagine,"  he  says,  "  what 
it  was  for  a  man  to  live  seventy  years  in  this  hard  world  with 
the  kindest  heart  and  the  noblest  intellect  of  his  time,  and  never 
to  meet  with  a  single  word  or  ray  of  sympathy,  until  he  felt  him- 
self sinking  into  the  grave.  From  the  time  he  knew  his  true 
greatness,  all  the  world  was  against  him  ;  no  one  understood 
him,  no  one  trusted  him,  and  everyone  cried  out  against  him." 

It  would  seem  from  these  two  accounts  that  the  exigencies 
of  fine  writing  may  at  times  lead  authors  into  extremes.  From 
Mr  Fawkes  of  Farnley,  Mr  Munro,  and  Mr  Trimmer,  not  to 
mention  a  number  of  other  life-long  friends  of  Turner,  he  must 
have  received  "a  word  or  ray  of  sympathy,"  and  after  all  a 
man  does  not  become  embittered  and  disappointed  except  he 
is  neglected  and  has  to  suffer  poverty.  Turner  all  through 
his  extraordinary  industrious  life  amassed  money  hand  over 
hand,  by  the  sale  of  his  drawings  and  by  the  profits  of  the 
engravings  of  his  works;  and  he  died  worth  £140,000.  It 
does  not  seem  likely  that  the  non-sale  of  his  oil  pictures 
should  have  affected  him  much,  especially  when  we  find  that  he 
bought  back  those  that  he  had  sold  whenever  he  had  a  chance. 

We  doubt  very  much  whether  Turner  was  a  morose  and 
disappointed  man.  He  had  an  especial  affection  for  the  Royal 
Academy — the  body  that  early  recognised  his  merits,  and 
enrolled  him  amongst  its  members ;  and  towards  it  he  felt  a  life- 
long gratitude.  The  Royal  Academy  was  "  his  mother,"  as  he 
used  to  say,  and  on  the  annual  varnishing  days  before  the 
exhibition,  he  perpetrated  nearly  all  the  jovial  sayings  and  doings 
which  are  recorded  of  him.  He  dearly  loved  a  social  meeting 
of  his  brother  artists,  and  in  fact  left  money  in  his  will  to 
provide  an  annual  dinner. 

He  had  a  natural  love  of  mystification,  of  putting  people  off 
the  track ;  he  was  secretive,  and  would  let  no  one  into  his 


222       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

professional  secrets,  and  he  was  utterly  absorbed  in  his  art. 
Probably  also  he  had  an  infirmity  frequent  in  superior  minds, 
an  impatience  with  commonplace  people ;  he  was  not  called 
upon  to  tolerate  them,  why  should  he  bother  himself?  On  the 
face  of  it  the  idea  of  Turner's  life  having  been  a  sad  one  is  an 
absurdity  ;  every  man  takes  his  pleasure  where  he  finds  it ;  what 
but  joy,  intense  love  and  delight  could  have  been  in  the  man's 
soul  who  through  long  years  wandered  over  Europe  in  all 
weathers,  conscious  of  the  supreme  gift  of  artistic  genius,  pour- 
ing himself  out  in  his  matchless  drawings  in  never-ending 
fulness  and  versatility.  He  was  singular  and  not  like  other 
men,  in  more  ways  than  one ;  and  if  he  never  found  a  sym- 
pathetic mind,  it  was  probably  because,  either  from  shyness, 
from  indolence,  or  indifference,  he  did  not  take  the  trouble  to 
look  for  one.  But  no  doubt  if  any  of  us  were  allowed  to  take 
Turner's  imagination  on  trial  for  a  week  we  should  ask  for  no 
better  companionship  for  the  remainder  of  our  lives. 

When  visitors  called  upon  Turner  in  Queen  Anne  Street, 
they  were  shown  into  a  dingy  room  on  the  ground  floor  and 
asked  to  wait.  After  a  time  there  was  a  shuffling  sound  of 
slippered  feet  on  the  staircase,  and  the  great  painter  entered, 
presenting,  so  it  is  said,  a  somewhat  fuliginous  appearance,  like 
Vulcan  issuing  from  his  forge.  Into  the  sanctum  of  the  studio 
none  was  allowed  to  penetrate  except  Mrs  Danby,  his  house- 
keeper, and  she4  related  that  when  she  went  in  of  an  evening 
and  saw  what  he  had  done  in  the  day  she  used  to  say  to  herself, 
"  He  must  be  a  God." 

In  drawing  up  his  will  and  its  four  codicils,  Turner  seems  to 
have  been  actuated  by  a  mixture  of  selfish  and  unselfish  motives. 
He  desired  to  perpetuate  his  name  and  fame  by  the  bequest  of 
his  pictures  to  the  National  Gallery,  the  erection  of  a  monument 
to  himself,  the  founding  of  the  Turner  Medal,  and  the  scheme 
for  bettering  the  condition  of  the  unfortunate  in  his  own  pro- 
fession by  the  foundation  of  a  sort  of  superior  almshouse  to  be 


TURNER'S  WILL  223 

called  "  Turner's  Gift."  Three  of  these  objects  were  certainly 
for  the  benefit  of  other  people,  and  one  of  the  three  was  a 
benevolent  project  of  the  highest  order.  Saving  and  almost 
miserly  as  Turner  was,  many  stones  are  related  of  his  genero- 
sity, and  both  in  these  instances  and  by  the  contents  of  his  will, 
he  showed  that  he  did  not  save  for  the  sake  of  hoarding. 

The  original  will  is  dated  the  loth  of  June  1831,  and  after 
sundry  small  bequests  to  Turner's  uncles  and  nephews,  and 
annuities  to  his  housekeeper,  Hannah  Danby,  and  some  of  her 
relatives,  it  provides  that  the  whole  of  the  remainder  of  the 
funded  property  be  applied  and  disposed  of  for  the  purpose  of 
founding  a  charitable  institution  "for  the  maintenance  and 
support  of  poor  and  decayed  male  artists,  being  born  in  England, 
and  of  English  parents  only  and  lawful  issue."  A  "  proper  and 
suitable  building  or  residence"  is  to  be  provided  for  this 
purpose,  "in  such  a  situation  as  may  be  deemed  eligible  and 
advantageous."  The  institution  is  to  be  called  "  Turner's  Gift," 
and  the  management  of  it  is  to  be  in  the  hands  of  four  trustees, 
of  whom  two  are  to  be  members  of  the  Royal  Academy.  The 
will  also  contains  the  gift  to  the  National  Gallery  of  the  two 
pictures,  "  Dido  building  Carthage "  and  "  The  Sun  Rising  in 
Mist,"  on  condition  of  their  being  hung  between  the  two  works 
by  Claude,  "  The  Seaport "  (embarkation  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba), 
and  "  The  Mill "  (marriage  of  Isaac  and  Rebecca),  this  bequest 
to  be  void  unless  accepted  within  twelve  months.  On  the  2Oth 
of  August  1832,  a  codicil  was  added  to  the  effect  that  if,  after  five 
years  from  his  death,  it  was  found  impossible,  owing  to  there 
being  any  legal  objection,  to  carry  out  his  wish  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  charitable  institution  for  poor  artists,  then  so  much 
as  was  necessary  of  the  property  was  to  be  used  for  the  purpose 
of  forming,  at  his  house  in  Queen  Anne  Street,  a  gallery  in 
which  to  keep  all  his  pictures,  to  be  known  as  "  Turner's  Gallery," 
and  of  which  Hannah  Danby  was  to  be  custodian,  with  £150  a 
year  as  salary,  and  her  two  nieces  assistants,  with  ;£ioo  a  year 
each.  After  these  bequests  had  been  provided  for,  the  residue 


224       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

was  to  go  to  the  Royal  Academy  on  condition  of  their  giving 
every  year  on  his  birthday,  the  23rd  of  October,  a  dinner  to  all 
the  members  of  the  Academy  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  £50.  The 
Academy  is  also  to  give  £60  a  year  to  a  Professor  of  Landscape 
to  be  elected  from  the  Royal  Academicians,  and  a  gold  medal 
worth  £20  for  the  best  landscape  every  second  or  third  year. 
If  the  Academy  does  not  accept  the  bequest,  then  the  residue 
is  to  go  to  Georgiana  Danby  and  her  heirs,  "  after  causing  a 
monument  to  be  placed  near  my  remains  as  can  be  placed"  A 
second  codicil  was  executed  on  the  29th  of  August  1846,  but  as 
it  was  subsequently  revoked,  its  contents  need  not  be  stated. 
The  date  of  the  next  codicil  is  2nd  August  1848,  and  it  is 
requested  that  it  may  be  taken  as  part  of  the  will  and  of  the 
first  codicil  and  as  revoking  the  second,  and  in  it  his  bequests  to 
his  relatives  and  the  Danbys  are  cancelled,  and  all  his  pictures 
given  to  the  National  Gallery,  "  provided  that  a  room  or  rooms 
are  added  to  the  present  National  Gallery  to  be,  when  erected, 
called  'Turner's  Gallery,'"  and  till  this  is  done  they  are  to 
remain  in  Queen  Anne  Street,  as  arranged  for  in  the  original 
will,  and  if  not  done  within  five  years,  then  the  gift  is  to  be 
void.  Again  a  fourth  and  last  codicil,  dated  1st  February  1849, 
extends  the  time  for  the  construction  of  the  room  or  rooms  at 
the  National  Gallery  to  ten  years,  but  if  the  conditions  are  not 
carried  out  by  that  time,  then  the  gift  is  to  be  "  null  and  void 
and  of  none  effect,"  and  the  pictures  are  to  be  exhibited 
gratuitously  to  the  public  at  the  house  in  Queen  Anne  Street  till 
within  two  years  of  the  expiration  of  the  existing  lease,  when 
they  are  to  be  sold.  A  sum  of  £1000  is  to  be  expended  in 
erecting  a  monument  to  him  in  St  Paul's  Cathedral,  "  where  I 
desire  to  be  buried  among  my  brothers  in  art,"  and  annuities  of 
£150  each  are  left  to  Hannah  Danby  and  Sophia  Caroline 
Booth,  his  housekeepers  respectively  at  Queen  Anne  Street  and 
Chelsea.  If  the  pictures  are  sold,  the  Pension  Fund  of  the 
Royal  Academy  is  to  receive  £1000  of  the  produce,  provided 
they  give  the  medal  already  referred  to,  and  there  are  legacies 


THE  COURTS  CONSTRUCTION  OF  TURNER'S  WILL  225 

out  of  it  of  £500  each  to  the  Artists'  General  Benevolent  Fund, 
the  Foundling  Hospital,  and  the  London  Orphan  Fund.  The 
residue  is  to  be  "  for  the  benefit  of  the  intended  hospital  in  my 
will  mentioned."  There  are  also  legacies  of£iooeach  to  Mrs 
Wheeler  and  her  two  sisters,  Emma  and  Laura. 

Turner  died  on  the  ipth  of  December  1851,  and  on  the  6th 
of  September  1852,  the  will  and  four  codicils  were  proved,  the 
effects  being  sworn  under  £140,000.  It  was  not  likely  that  such 
confused  documents,  full  of  interpolations  and  contradictory 
instructions,  would  be  allowed  to  take  legal  effect  without  opposi- 
tion, and  accordingly,  we  find  the  next-of-kin  first  trying  to  prove 
that  the  testator  was  of  unsound  mind  and  incapable  of  making 
a  will,  and  then  contending,  in  opposition  to  the  trustees  and 
executors,  who  had  petitioned  the  Court  of  Chancery  to  give  its 
construction  of  the  will  and  administer  the  estate,  that  no  con- 
struction at  all  could  be  placed  on  the  will,  and  that  it  was 
therefore  void  ;  and  that  even  if  it  could  be  carried  out,  it  was  still 
void,  as  the  bequests  came  within  the  statute  of  mortmain.  For 
four  years  the  suit  (Trimmer  v.  Danby)  dragged  its  slow  length 
along ;  but  at  last,  with  the  assent  of  all  the  interested  parties, 
a  compromise  was  effected,  and  on  the  igth  of  March  1856, 
Vice-Chancellor  Kindersley  delivered  a  judgment  in  accordance 
with  which  all  the  pictures,  drawings,  and  sketches,  whether 
finished  or  unfinished,  were  to  go  to  the  National  Gallery,  £1000 
was  to  be  expended  on  erecting  a  monument  in  St  Paul's 
Cathedral,  £20,000  was  to  be  paid  to  the  Royal  Academy,  the 
heir-at-law  was  to  have  the  real  estate,  and  the  remainder  was 
to  be  divided  amongst  the  next-of-kin. 

As  the  result  of  this  decision  the  National  Gallery  received 
ninety-eight  finished  oil  pictures,  and  two  hundred  and  seventy 
unfinished  ones,  and  several  hundreds  of  drawings  and  sketches, 
some  on  ragged  scraps  of  paper  and  the  backs  of  letters,  but  all 
of  great  interest.  The  monument  in  St  Paul's  took  the  form  of 
a  statue,  executed  by  P.  McDowell,  R.  A. 

The  £20,000  given  to  the  Royal  Academy  was  unaccom- 

P 


226       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

panied  by  any  restrictions,  but  it  was  immediately  decided  to 
keep  the  sum  quite  separate  from  the  other  property  of  the 
Academy,  and  to  invest  it  in  Consols  as  a  distinct  fund  under 
the  title  of  the  "  Turner  Fund  "  ;  and  further,  to  apply  the  interest 
derived  from  it  to  carrying  out  Turner's  expressed  wish  as 
regarded  a  medal,  and  to  giving  effect,  so  far  as  might  be,  to  the 
benevolent  instructions  of  his  will.  A  prize  of  a  gold  medal  for 
a  landscape  was  instituted,  called  the  "  Turner  Gold  Medal,"  to 
be  competed  for  biennially  by  the  students  of  the  Academy,  in 
the  same  year  as  the  other  gold  medals.  The  designs  for  this 
medal  were  made  by  Daniel  Maclise,  R.  A.,  at  the  request  of  the 
General  Assembly,  and  were  modelled  by  Leonard  Wyon.  The 
portrait  of  Turner  forms  the  obverse,  while  on  the  reverse  is 
represented  a  student  of  nature  amidst  the  symbols  and  charac- 
teristics of  landscape,  and  above  are  three  figures  personifying 
the  primitive  colours.  The  first  recipient  of  this  medal  was 
Nevill  O.  Lupton,  in  1857.  In  1881  a  scholarship  of  £50, 
tenable  for  one  year,  was  added  to  the  medal. 

It  was,  however,  by  its  endeavours  to  carry  out  the  benevo- 
lent intentions  of  the  testator  that  the  Academy  most  fully 
justified  the  appropriation  to  it  of  a  portion  of  the  property. 
Although  there  were  no  conditions  as  to  how  the  money  was  to 
be  used,  it  resolved  to  expend  the  income  derived  from  the  in- 
vested £20,000,  less  the  sum  required  for  the  medal  and  scholar- 
ship, in  giving  aid  to  distressed  artists ;  and  after  making 
sundry  grants  in  the  first  two  or  three  years,  finally,  in  1860, 
determined  on  the  institution  of  annuities  of  £50  each,  to  be 
granted  by  the  Council  to  "  artists  of  reputation,  not  members 
of  the  Academy,  who,  through  the  unavoidable  failure  of  pro- 
fessional employment,  or  other  causes,  may  be  in  circumstances 
needing  such  aid."  It  is  true  that  at  first  this  resolution  was  not 
fully  carried  out,  only  six  annuities  being  given,  and  the  balance 
carried  to  the  general  account  of  the  Academy;  but  in  1867  the 
number  of  annuitants  was  raised  to  nine,  in  1868  to  ten,  and  in 
1 879  to  twelve.  In  1881  it  was  resolved  that  the  whole  of  the 


THE  "TURNER  ANNUITIES"  227 

accumulated  balances  which  had  been  carried  to  the  general 
account,  amounting  to  £5695,  should  be  repaid  to  the  Turner 
Fund,  together  with  simple  interest.  This  made  a  gross  total  of 
£8060,  and  when  invested  in  Consols,  increased  the  Turner  Fund 
to  £30,939,  1 8s.,  and  allowed  the  annuities  to  be  raised  to  fifteen 
and  the  scholarship  already  mentioned  to  be  added  to  the  medal. 
Further  balances  have  since  been  invested  from  time  to  time, 
and  the  total  amount  now  stands  at  £31,737,  us.  2d.,  and  the 
number  of  annuitants  at  sixteen. 

The  two  main  points  in  Turner's  will  were  the  gift  of  his 
pictures  to  the  nation,  and  his  benevolent  scheme  for  the  benefit 
of  poor  artists.  Whether  he  would  be  satisfied  with  the  manner 
in  which  the  first  has  been  realised,  we  are  not  concerned  to 
express  an  opinion ;  but,  at  any  rate,  the  Royal  Academy  has 
done  its  best  to  endeavour  with  the  means  placed  at  its  disposal 
to  carry  out  the  second. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ROYAL    ACADEMICIANS    ELECTED    DURING    THE    PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN   WEST — continued 

SIR  JOHN  SOANE,  R.A. 

LINCOLN'S  INN  FIELDS  is  not  a  fashionable  resort,  though  it  is 
not  quite  unknown  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  West.  As  you 
enter  it  from  Great  Queen  Street  you  are  impressed  by  its  fine 
architecture,  its  dimness,  and  its  vast  expanse — on  few  occasions 
is  the  far  side  of  it  visible  through  the  smoky  atmosphere — and 
also  by  its  stillness.  There  seems  to  be  no  traffic  but  that  of 
lawyer's  clerks  carrying  blue  bags,  and  you  might  imagine  it 
was  an  obsolete  and  decaying  remnant  of  old  London,  did  you 
not  know  that  around  you,  and  on  every  side,  though  unseen, 
like  the  forces  which  underlie  the  dormant  volcano,  there  are 
busy  brains  at  work,  forging  the  fetters  and  furbishing  up  the 
dread  machinery  of  law  and  litigation. 

Its  stillness  impresses  the  imagination  and  daunts  the  spirit ; 
it  is  like  the  torpor  which  hangs  over  estates  whose  title  is  dis- 
puted, or  great  concerns  which  have  gone  into  liquidation. 
This  would  not  seem  an  atmosphere  congenial  to  Art,  and, 
indeed,  few  people  are  aware  that  in  the  midst  of  it  there  stands 
a  perfect  treasure-house  of  Art ;  even  the  policeman  on  his 
beat,  so  it  has  been  said,  is  often  unable  to  direct  a  stranger 
to  Sir  John  Soane's  Museum.  It  stands  on  the  north  side 
of  the  square,  at  the  distance  of  about  one  quarter  of  the 
entire  frontage  from  the  corner  of  Great  Queen  Street;  its 

228 


THE  SOANE  MUSEUM  229 

facade  is  singularly  mean,  to  which  meanness  a  touch  of 
vulgarity  has  been  added  by  two  plaster  figures  perched  upon 
the  cornice  ;  this  seems  characteristic  of  Sir  John  Soane's  mind. 
He  showed  wonderful  invention  and  a  striving  after  originality 
in  the  buildings  he  constructed,  and  yet  his  eye  was  able  to 
tolerate  solecisms  in  portions  of  them  which  entirely  marred 
their  general  effect;  and  when  we  find  ourselves  inside  the 
museum,  crammed  as  it  is  with  beautiful  things,  quite  a  neat 
little  physiological  problem  presents  itself  to  our  mind,  namely, 
how  the  man  who  delighted  in  such  things,  and  himself  created 
so  many  beautiful  designs,  could  daily  go  in  and  out  of  that 
ugly  house  and  not  feel  his  eye  offended.  The  internal  arrange- 
ments of  this  unique  domicile  are  truly  wonderful,  they  entirely 
upset  our  accustomed  notions  of  upstairs  and  downstairs,  of 
kitchen  and  parlour ;  nothing  is  as  it  should  be,  but  all  is 
unusual  and  unintelligible;  even  the  walls  are  a  delusion. 
When  we  have  finished  admiring  some  pictures  and  drawings 
we  see  hanging  up,  our  obliging  attendant  turns  a  handle,  and 
hey,  presto!  the  wall,  pictures,  and  drawings  vanish,  and  we 
have  before  us  a  vista  of  another  gallery  filled  with  drawings, 
low  reliefs,  statues,  and  Art  things  of  every  kind,  massed 
together,  we  are  bound  to  confess,  in  rather  bewildering  pro- 
fusion ;  in  fact,  this  multitudinousness  becomes  overwhelming, 
and  we  are  glad  to  escape  at  last,  saying  to  ourselves  that  Sir 
John  Soane's  Museum  cannot  be  done  justice  to  in  one  visit, 
but  requires  two  or  three. 

Of  course,  amongst  so  much,  there  must  be  some  rubbish ; 
in  the  antique  department  there  is  an  undue  proportion  of 
plaster  compared  with  intrinsic  marble  and  bronze,  and  the 
drawings,  which  cover  almost  every  available  inch  of  wall-space, 
do  not  always  satisfy  our  aesthetic  cravings ;  but  for  all  that 
there  is  much  to  see  and  admire.  There  is  a  picture  of  the 
"  Grand  Canal  in  Venice,"  which  appears  to  us  one  of  the  finest 
pictures  painted  by  Canaletto  ;  this,  with  the  "  Rake's  Progress," 
and  the  Election  series  by  Hogarth,  and  an  exquisite  early 


230       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

drawing  of  "  Kirkstall  Abbey,"  by  Turner,  would  alone  repay  a 
visit  to  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields. 

But  perhaps  the  strongest  impression  we  carry  away  with 
us  when  we  leave  the  place  and  tread  once  more  the  deserted 
flagstones  of  the  great  square  is  wonder  and  admiration  for  the 
man,  for  the  energy,  perseverance,  and  intensity  of  fixed 
purpose  which  enabled  him  in  the  course  of  one  lifetime  to  pile 
together  such  a  mass  of  fine  things,  and  for  the  ingenuity  which 
enabled  him  to  house  them  all.  His  carefulness,  tidiness, 
ingenuity,  and  supreme  faculty  for  packing  things  together 
must  appear  truly  miraculous  to  those  not  possessed  of  these 
faculties,  or  who  only  possess  them  in  that  rudimentary  con- 
dition which  is  exemplified  in  the  art  of  pitching  things  into  a 
portmanteau  and  then  sitting  on  them,  a  condition  in  which  they 
exist  in  the  vast  mass  of  untidy  humanity.  Soane's  Museum  is 
undoubtedly  overcrowded,  and  one  cannot  help  regretting  that 
its  choicer  treasures,  such  as  Hogarth's  pictures,  the  exquisite 
MSS.  of  the  thirteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  one  or  two  great 
vases,  etc.,  could  not  have  been  displayed  with  more  margin 
round  them,  where  they  could  have  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of 
their  own  undisturbed  by  alien  attractions. 

This  very  remarkable  man,  John  Soane,  was  born  in 
Reading,  in  1753,  and  was  the  son  of  a  bricklayer.  His  sister 
was  a  servant  in  the  house  of  George  Dance,  the  architect,  and 
probably  through  her  influence  he  was  taken  into  the  office,  as 
errand  boy  and  general  fag ;  later  he  was  admitted  as  a  pupil, 
but  the  greater  part  of  his  time,  up  to  his  start  for  Italy  as 
gold-medal  student  of  the  Royal  Academy,  was  passed  in  the 
office  of  Henry  Holland,  an  eminent  architect  in  his  day.  He 
had  entered  the  Academy  schools  in  1771  and  obtained  the 
gold  medal  in  1776,  being  awarded  the  travelling  studentship 
in  the  following  year,  mainly  owing  to  the  all-powerful  recom- 
mendation of  Sir  W.  Chambers,  who  was  much  pleased  with 
Soane's  design  for  a  "Triumphal  Bridge"  which  had  won  him 
the  medal,  and  the  fortunate  student  would  have  been  better 


SOANE'S  WORK  AS  AN  ARCHITECT  231 

advised,  or  more  happily  inspired,  had  he  been  satisfied  to  let 
well  alone,  and  had  he  not  published  a  volume  of  designs  which 
came  out  the  year  after  he  left  England,  and  which  did  him 
so  little  credit  that  in  after  years  he  was  glad  to  buy  up  every 
copy  he  could  meet  with. 

It  is  seldom  a  biographer  has  such  an  opportunity  as  he 
finds  in  this  man's  life,  and  were  it  worth  seriously  and  minutely 
recording,  which  it  probably  is  not,  a  writer  of  insight  could 
produce  a  truer  picture  of  a  man's  mind  than  is  usually  found  in 
such  books.  His  executed  works  and  his  designs,  his  museum, 
and  the  collection  it  contains,  seem  to  explain  the  man  and 
make  him  familiar  to  us,  with  all  that  was  worthy  and  unworthy 
in  him,  with  his  merits  and  his  meannesses,  with  all  his  contra- 
dictory qualities.  And  this  is  much  ;  when  we  reflect  how  few 
out  of  the  vast  and  never-ceasing  procession  of  human  lives 
which  issues  out  of  the  darkness  and  the  unknown,  to  disappear 
into  it  again,  ever  leave  behind  them  the  slightest  trace  of  their 
passing,  or  any  recognisable  proof  that  such  a  man  once  lived 
and  was  thus  fashioned.  Sir  John  Soane,  at  all  events,  erected 
a  monument  to  himself  durable  as  brass,  and  though  we  may 
not  altogether  sympathise  with  him,  we  are  bound  to  give  him 
an  honourable  place  among  English  worthies. 

What  is  abundantly  evident  is  that  he  had  no  genius  for 
architecture,  only  a  bright  fancy  and  a  sense  of  adaptability,  as 
also  very  great  industry.  He  was,  moreover,  a  supremely  lucky 
man,  and  there  is  merit  in  that,  as  has  been  said. 

It  was  lucky  that  he  was  appointed  to  the  travelling  student- 
ship before  the  publication  of  his  first  volume  of  designs ;  it 
was  lucky  that  when  in  Italy  he  made  the  acquaintance,  perhaps 
even  acquired  the  friendship,  of  Thomas  Pitt,  afterwards  Lord 
Camelford,  to  whose  influence  he  owed  his  appointment  of 
architect  to  the  Bank  of  England ;  which  was  followed  by  that 
of  clerk  of  the  works  of  St  James's  Palace ;  then  of  architect 
to  the  Woods  and  Forests,  and  surveyor  of  Chelsea  Hospital, 
all  lucrative  posts.  And  finally  he  was  lucky  that  in  his 


232       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

marriage  he  drew  a  prize  which,  though  we  know  nothing 
of  its  spiritual  preciousness,  represented  a  fine  material  value  in 
the  shape  of  a  handsome  fortune.  And  so  it  came  about  that 
this  son  of  a  Berkshire  bricklayer,  without  any  transcendent 
qualities  that  we  can  discern,  was  spared  the  pangs  of  dis- 
appointment, the  quips  and  scorns  which  patient  merit  of  the 
unworthy  takes,  and  which  have  broken  the  hearts  of  so  many 
men  of  genius ;  fickle  fortune  dropped  one  good  thing  into  his 
lap  after  another,  and  he  spent  his  life  in  one  long  luxurious 
course  of  fadding. 

But  to  his  honour  be  it  recorded,  he  also  designed  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  Bank  of  England,  one  of  the  most  graceful 
features  in  London  street  architecture.  He  seems  to  have 
executed  many  buildings,  public  and  private ;  but  in  the 
opinion  of  the  most  competent  judges  he  was  only  successful  in 
bits,  and  a  painful  poverty  of  design  is  always  apparent  in  some 
portion  of  his  work. 

He  had  ideas,  but  no  idea  ;  no  large  sense  of  unity  and  com- 
pleteness, or  of  structural  consistency ;  and  that  summing  up  of 
his  merits  which  was  current  at  the  commencement  of  this 
century,  though  it  sounds  futile  and  ridiculous  to  us,  is  perhaps 
a  just  one,  namely,  that  the  great  claim  to  originality  of  Sir  John 
Soane  consisted  in  his  having  been  the  first  to  adopt,  and  to  dis- 
seminate, that  particular  form  of  architectural  confectionery 
known  as  Tivoli-Corinthian. 

When  Soane  was  admitted  a  student  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
his  name  was  spelt  "Soan,"  and  is  found  so  printed  in  the 
Academy  catalogues  from  1772  to  1784,  when  the  final  "e"  was 
for  the  first  time  appended.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1795,  and  an  Academician  in  1802,  on  the  same  evening  as 
Turner;  and  in  1806  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Archi- 
tecture. 

His  tenure  of  this  post  was  marked  by  an  incident  strongly 
illustrative  of  the  somewhat  cantankerous  and  obstinate  character 
of  the  man,  At  the  beginning  of  1810,  the  Council  passed  a 


SOANE'S  DISPUTE  WITH  THE  COUNCIL         233 

resolution,  which  is  still  in  force,  "  That  no  comments  or  criti- 
cisms on  the  opinions  and  productions  of  living  artists  in  this 
country  should  be  introduced  into  any  of  the  lectures  delivered 
in  the  Royal  Academy,"  and  the  reasons  given  were : — "  1st, 
because  the  lecturers  of  the  Academy  are  in  matters  of  Art  the 
public  organs  of  the  institution,  and  are  supposed  to  deliver 
sentiments  approved  of  generally  by  the  body  ;  the  sanction  of 
such  an  authority  therefore  should  not  be  used  to  prejudice  the 
talents  or  depreciate  the  productions  of  artists  whose  interests 
may  be  materially  affected  by  unfavourable  animadversions  thus 
officially  delivered  ;  2nd,  because  the  introduction  of  such  com- 
ments or  criticisms  has  a  direct  tendency  to  disturb  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  the  Academy,  and  create  a  spirit  of  dissension 
in  the  art ;  3rd,  because  it  seems  unfair  to  bring  the  talents  or 
works  of  living  artists  to  trial  before  a  tribunal  where  they  have 
no  means  of  defence  or  justification,  and  because  we  conceive 
that  there  are  materials  sufficient  for  all  the  purposes  of 
example  or  illustration  without  resorting  to  the  productions  of 
artists  who,  if  members  of  the  Academy,  have  a  claim  to  the 
protection  of  the  body  to  which  they  belong,  and  who,  if  not 
members,  have  a  right  to  a  liberal  and  indulgent  consideration 
of  their  merits  in  an  institution  which  presides  over  the  interests 
of  the  Arts  at  large." 

This  resolution  was  moved  by  Howard,  afterwards  Secre- 
tary, and  seconded  by  Shee,  afterwards  President,  and  carried 
unanimously,  the  other  members  present  being  Flaxman,  in 
the  chair,  Yenn  (the  Treasurer),  Marchant,  and  Phillips ;  the 
President  (West)  is  described  in  the  minutes  as  being 
"in  gout"  and  the  Secretary  (Richards)  as  "ill."  A  copy 
of  the  resolution  without  the  reasons  was  sent  to  each  of  the 
professors  with  a  request  that  they  would  conform  to  the  same  ; 
and  none  of  them  appear  to  have  raised  any  objection  with  the 
exception  of  Soane,  at  whom  it  may  therefore  be  presumed  the 
resolution  was  chiefly  aimed.  He  replied  with  a  request  to  be 
informed  of  the  names  of  those  present  at  the  Council  when  the 


234       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

resolution  was  passed,  and  also  of  the  reasons  on  which  it  was 
founded,  both  of  which  requests  were  refused  as  "  unusual  and 
irregular,"  and  he  was  reminded  that  the  books  of  the  Academy 
were  "  always  accessible  to  Academicians " ;  and  he  was  also 
asked  to  state  when  it  would  be  "  convenient  to  him  to  resume 
his  architectural  lectures."  To  this  inquiry  his  reply  is  described 
in  the  minutes  of  iQth  February  1810,  as  "evasive  and  unsatis- 
factory." Such  as  it  was  it  left  him  master  of  the  situation 
apparently,  as  he  delivered  no  lectures  that  year,  and  the  matter 
was  allowed  to  drop  until  the  time  again  came  round  for  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties  as  professor,  when  a  similar  correspondence 
was  begun,  the  situation  being  further  complicated  and  an 
almost  comic  aspect  given  it  by  the  presence  of  Soane  himself 
on  the  Council.  This  time,  however,  the  Council  lost  patience 
with  him  and  declared  the  professorship  vacant ;  but  when  the 
resolution  embodying  this  decision  was  submitted  to  the 
General  Assembly  in  March  1811,  that  body  was  not  prepared 
to  endorse  so  extreme  a  measure,  and  though  it  pronounced  Mr 
Soane's  conduct  to  have  been  "  highly  improper  and  disrespect- 
ful," did  not  consider  him  as  having  thereby  vacated  the  pro- 
fessor's chair;  and  the  President  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of 
the  General  Assembly  expressed  the  hope  that  "  the  professor 
would  now  resume  his  functions."  And  this  he  appears  to  have 
done  in  1812,  though  he  ended  his  course  with  a  protest  that  he 
could  not  continue  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office  unless  the 
Academy  would  revise  and  retrace  their  proceedings  relative  to 
him  since  the  delivery  of  his  fourth  lecture  in  January  1810,  which 
we  may  conclude  was  the  offending  lecture  that  gave  rise  to 
the  original  action  of  the  Council. 

Accordingly,  in  1813,  we  find  him  beginning  the  old  game 
again ;  but  the  Council  declined  to  enter  into  a  correspondence 
with  him,  as  "  after  so  much  ineffectual  discussion  all  tending  to 
the  same  point  and  producing  the  same  conclusions,  in  which  Mr 
Soane  has  inflexibly  opposed  his  single  opinion  to  the  general 
sense  of  the  Academy  and  trifled  with  its  lenity,  it  would  be  deroga- 


SOANE'S  CHARACTER  235 

tory  to  the  character  and  dignity  of  the  Society  to  proceed  further 
in  communicating  with  him  on  the  subject " ;  and  further  stated 
that  "  Mr  Soane  having  made  it  apparent  that  he  will  not  resume 
the  duties  of  his  office  but  upon  conditions  prescribed  by  him- 
self, in  direct  opposition  to  the  laws  of  the  Society,"  they  "  felt 
themselves  compelled  to  declare  that  the  office  of  Professor  of 
Architecture  is  vacated."  This  prompt  action  and  plain 
language  appears  to  have  had  an  effect  on  the  recalcitrant  and 
obstinate  professor.  At  the  General  Assembly  convened  on 
29th  January  1813,  to  consider  the  Council's  decision — after  the 
application  of  a  little  soothing  syrup  in  the  form  of  a  declaration, 
stating  that  the  Academy  had  been  actuated  solely  by  a  con- 
sideration of  duty  to  the  institution,  etc.,  in  passing  the  law  of 
1810  with  reference  to  professors,  and  that  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  express  their  regret  that  their  Professor  of  Architecture 
should  have  considered  himself  injured  or  aggrieved  by  any  pro- 
ceedings respecting  it — Soane  got  up  and  declared  that  "he 
wished  that  everything  past  should  be  buried  in  oblivion,  and 
that  he  was  ready  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  the  Academy." 
Thereupon  it  was  decided  that  all  further  proceedings  were  un- 
necessary, and  the  Council  were  in  their  turn  smoothed  down  by 
an  expression  of  approbation  for  the  zeal  and  attention  they  had 
exhibited  in  the  matter.  And  so  after  three  years  the  struggle 
ended,  and  Soane  discharged  his  duties  as  professor  till  his 
death  in  1837. 

The  same  unyielding  and  obstinate  temper  as  was  displayed 
in  this  episode  was  also  shown  by  Soane  in  his  treatment  of  his 
only  son,  with  whom  he  had  a  deadly  quarrel  on  account  of  some 
offence  to  his  vanity,  and  whom  he  never  could  bring  himself  to 
forgive.  Indeed,  so  rancorous  did  his  feelings  ultimately  become 
that  he  not  only  alienated  all  his  property,  but  when  it  was  pro- 
posed to  do  him  honour,  he  refused  a  baronetcy  because  it 
offered  some  reversionary  benefit  to  his  son. 

A  later  incident  in  his  Academic  career  shows  him  in  a 
more  favourable  light.  At  the  death  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence 


236       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

in  1830  an  effort,  set  on  foot  by  the  Academy,  was  made  to 
purchase  for  the  nation  the  collection  of  drawings  by  Old 
Masters  formed  by  him,  and  so  strongly  was  the  proposal 
supported  by  the  Academy  that  it  voted  a  sum  of  £1000 
towards  it  in  spite  of  an  influential  opposition  led  by  Turner, 
Callcott,  and  Chantrey,  who  wanted  to  pronounce  an  emphatic 
Academic  blessing  on  the  scheme  without  giving  any  money 
towards  its  realisation.  At  the  meeting  at  which  the  final 
decision  was  arrived  at,  Turner  read  a  letter  from  Soane  offer- 
ing to  give  £1000  towards  the  purchase  of  the  collection  "  pro- 
vided they  can  be  obtained  for  the  Royal  Academy,  and  placed 
solely  at  its  disposal."  But  it  was  felt  that  there  was  more 
chance  of  raising  the  money  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the 
drawings,  as  advocated  by  the  Academy,  in  the  British 
Museum  or  National  Gallery,  and  Soane's  offer  was,  there- 
fore, declined,  with  a  handsome  expression  of  "high  admira- 
tion of  your  very  liberal  intentions "  and  "  best  thanks  for  the 
noble  proof  you  have  given  of  your  zeal  for  the  true  interests 
of  Art,  and  your  brotherly  regard  for  the  honour  of  the  Royal 
Academy." 

JOHN  CHARLES  FELIX  Rossi,  R.A., 

was  born  in  1762  at  Nottingham,  where  his  father,  a  native 
of  Sienna,  practised  medicine :  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  sculptor 
under  whom  he  worked  as  a  journeyman.  This  occupation 
awoke  in  him  the  consciousness  that  he  also  possessed  original 
talent,  and  aroused  his  ambition  ;  so  he  betook  himself  to 
London  in  1781,  and  became  a  student  of  the  Royal  Academy. 
In  1785,  having  gained  the  gold  medal  the  previous  year,  he  was 
awarded  a  travelling  studentship,  and  went  to  Rome  for  three 
years. 

When  he  returned  he  found  patronage  awaiting  him.  Those 
would  seem  to  have  been  halcyon  days  for  sculptors :  and  the 
huge  masses  of  monumental  marble  which  adorn  or  encumber 


JOHN  CHARLES  FELIX  ROSSI  237 

the  naves  and  transepts  of  Westminster  Abbey  and  St  Paul's, 
testify  not  only  to  the  gratitude  of  the  public,  and  of  admiring 
relatives,  but  also  to  the  complacency  of  the  Deans  and 
Chapters  of  those  days.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  rule 
or  sense  of  fitness  in  the  matter ;  influence,  as  we  presume, 
backed  by  wealth  and  some  colourable  show  of  achievement 
on  the  part  of  a  deceased  warrior,  naval  or  military,  sufficed 
to  secure  a  commanding  place  in  the  two  Cathedrals,  where 
relatives  were  left  free  to  pile  on  marble  and  mix  up  fact, 
allegory,  and  heathen  mythology  so  long  as  their  purses  held 
out. 

Of  the  unfitness  and  paganism  of  many  of  these  monuments 
we  need  say  nothing,  but  their  ridiculous  violation  of  common 
sense  makes  them  the  legitimate  property  of  the  satirist ;  they 
remind  us  of  the  celebrated  statues  in  the  groves  of  Blarney — 

"  Bold  Neptune,  Plutarch,  and  Nicodemus, 
All  standing  naked  in  the  open  air." 

But  Millikin's  verses,  which  were  purposely  ridiculous,  are  in 
reality  not  more  absurd  than  Westmacott's  representation  of 
a  British  officer  falling  on  the  field  of  Waterloo,  with  nothing 
on  but  a  Greek  helmet. 

Rossi  executed  several  large  monuments  in  St  Paul's,  one 
of  which  is  to  Captain  Robert  Faulkner,  R.N.,  who  was  killed 
on  board  the  Blanche  frigate  during  the  fight  with  the  French 
frigate  Pique,  on  the  $th  January  1795,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two. 
It  occupies  a  position  under  the  dome,  corresponding  to 
Flaxman's  monument  of  Nelson  on  the  other  side  of  the  nave, 
and  is  of  almost  equal  dimensions.  Captain  Faulkner  is  repre- 
sented falling  into  the  arms  of  Neptune,  who  is  seated  on  a  rock 
amongst  the  sea-weed  and  star-fish,  whilst  Fame  approaches 
from  behind  and  crowns  the  dying  hero  with  a  laurel  wreath. 
The  British  naval  officer  is  very  scantily  clothed  ;  wears,  in 
fact,  quite  a  minimum  of  clothing.  He  carries  a  shield  on  his 
left  arm  and  a  broken  Greek  sword  seems  to  be  dropping  from 


238       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

his  right  hand.  Surely  a  marble  tablet,  with  or  without 
Neptune,  somewhere  on  the  walls  of  the  nave,  would  have 
been  a  quite  sufficiently  adequate  national  recognition  of  the 
services  of  Captain  Robert  Faulkner.  However,  Rossi  was  in 
no  way  to  blame  in  this  matter ;  he  executed  a  commission 
given  to  him,  and  in  doing  so,  put  in  his  very  best  work ;  at 
least  his  best  in  St  Paul's.  It  would  be  too  hard  a  saying 
that  bad  was  that  best,  as  Rossi  was  scholarly,  and  exhibited 
a  certain  vigour  of  chiaroscuro,  but  he  had  a  hard  manner, 
and  was  deficient  in  invention,  in  design,  and  in  the  feeling 
of  grace. 

An  opportunity  makes  a  man,  it  has  been  said,  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  Rossi,  without  the  great  monumental  commissions, 
would  have  succeeded  in  charming  the  public  by  his  artistic 
gifts;  indeed,  as  it  turned  out,  when  those  commissions  ceased  he 
produced  no  more,  though  he  lived  to  old  age.  He  was  elected 
an  Associate  in  1798,  and  full  member  in  1802.  Some  years 
before  his  death  he  appears  to  have  got  into  monetary  diffi- 
culties, as,  in  addition  to  a  pension  from  the  Academy,  he  was 
continually  applying  for,  and  being  granted,  pecuniary  assist- 
ance. He  died  in  1839. 

HENRY  THOMSON,  R.A. 

His  name  conveys  no  meaning  to  the  world  at  large,  and 
the  image  of  him  as  an  artist  has  vanished  into  nothingness. 
He  is  said  to  have  displayed  considerable  talent  in  historical 
painting,  in  which  style  of  art  he  practised  for  many  years,  but 
we  cannot  call  to  mind  receiving  any  impression  from  a  work 
of  art  bearing  his  name.  He  was  the  son  of  a  purser  in  the 
navy,  and  was  born  in  London  in  1773.  In  !79°  ne  entered  the 
Academy  schools,  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1801,  and 
Academician  in  1804;  he  succeeded  Fuseli  as  Keeper  of  the 
Royal  Academy  in  1825,  but  was  forced  by  ill-health  to  throw 
up  the  appointment  after  only  two  years'  tenure ;  he  then  retired 


HENRY  THOMSON  239 

to  Portsea,  and  lived  there  to  the  end  of  his  life  in  1843 — onty 
occasionally  practising  his  art. 

When  he  retired  from  the  office  of  Keeper  he  wrote  a  long 
letter  to  the  Council,  which,  if  somewhat  stilted  and  diffuse  in 
style,  is  certainly  a  model  of  dignified  and  polite  letter-writing. 
In  it  he  says  :  "  To  the  Royal  Academy  I  am  indebted  for  my 
early  professional  education,  and  to  obtain  its  honours  was  one 
of  the  dearest  objects  of  my  ambition.  To  sustain  those  honours 
with  the  credit  which  becomes  an  artist  and  the  respectability 
which  belongs  to  the  character  of  a  gentleman  has  been  my 
undeviating  desire,  and  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  deemed  presump- 
tuous if  I  express  a  hope  that  they  have  not  been  tarnished  in 
my  hands."  At  the  same  time  he  presented  the  Academy  with 
several  valuable  gifts,  among  them  being  the  pictures  by 
Giorgione  and  Mola  in  the  diploma  galleries.  The  Academy  on 
its  part  showed  its  appreciation  of  his  services  by  presenting 
him  with  "  a  gold  snuff-box,  handsomely  enriched  and  with  a 
suitable  inscription." 

WILLIAM  OWEN,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Ludlow,  in  Shropshire,  in  1769.  His  father  was 
a  clergyman,  in  so  far,  at  least,  that  he  had  gone  through  the 
ceremony  of  ordination,  but  having  committed  the  imprudence 
of  marrying  into  a  very  respectable  Gloucester  family,  before 
patronage  had  given  him  the  means  of  living,  he  abandoned 
the  ministry  and  devoted  himself  to  bookselling.  Young 
William  was  educated  at  Ludlow  Grammar  School,  was 
admitted  a  student  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1791,  and  at  some 
time  probably  previous  to  that  date,  attracted  the  favourable 
notice  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  by  a  copy  he  made  of  "Perdita." 
He  is  also,  more  or  less  conjecturally,  supposed  to  have  been 
a  pupil  of  Catton.  These  facts  are  given  by  Allan  Cunning- 
ham, who  seems  disposed  to  hang  a  veil  of  mystery  over  the 
early  years  of  the  future  R.A.  What  is  perfectly  certain  is,  that 


240       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

in  the  Somerset  House  exhibition  of  1792,  there  were  two 
works,  a  landscape  and  a  portrait,  by  William  Owen,  then  aged 
twenty- three,  and  from  that  time  forward  he  was  a  constant 
annual  exhibitor. 

He  often  painted  fancy,  quasi  idyllic  scenes  of  rustic  life  such 
as  the  "Cottage  Girl,"  but  his  chief  occupation  was  portrait 
painting,  and  the  vast  number  of  works  of  this  class  he  left 
behind  him  shows  that  patronage  was  never  wanting.  He  used 
to  complain,  however,  that  he  only  got  the  leavings  of  his 
three  most  formidable  rivals,  namely,  Hoppner,  Beechey,  and 
Lawrence.  Hoppner  was  Court  favourite,  and  was  in  some 
mysterious  way  connected  with  the  Court.  Owen  said  of  him, 
that  when  he  was  at  a  loss,  the  Prince  would  sit  to  him  and 
help  him  to  sell  the  picture.  Sir  William  Beechey,  according  to 
the  same  authority,  sat  with  the  feathers  of  princesses  fanning 
his  brow ;  whilst  the  indictment  against  Lawrence  probably 
included  the  possession  of  inordinate  good  looks  and  gentle 
manners,  as  well  as  a  general  tendency  to  flummery  and  hum- 
bug, which  excited  the  wrath  of  Owen.  But  in  spite  of  these 
hindrances  he  was  able  to  hold  his  own,  and  the  long  list  of 
distinguished  men  who  sat  to  him  shows  that  he  enjoyed  a 
popularity  of  a  decidedly  substantial  kind. 

In  1810,  the  year  of  Hoppner's  death,  and  probably  after 
that  event,  Owen  was  made  portrait  painter  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  three  years  later  "  principal  portrait  painter  to  His 
Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent,"  at  which  time  he  was  also 
offered  knighthood,  which  he  declined.  He  had  been  elected 
an  Associate  in  1804,  and  a  full  Academician  in  1806. 

As  a  painter  we  must  place  him  very  high ;  he  had  acquired, 
possibly  from  that  early  copy  of  "  Perdita,"  something  of  the 
rich,  unctuous,  yet  crumbling  method  of  laying  on  the  colour 
which  is  conspicuous  in  Reynolds.  Owen's  execution  was 
truly  admirable,  and  had  it  only  been  guided  and  controlled 
by  a  more  subtle  and  watchful  sense  of  colour,  his  reputa- 
tion as  an  artist  would  have  stood  very  high.  In  his  lifetime 


WILLIAM  OWEN  241 

he  was  accused  of  being  too  literal  and  of  not  rendering  his 
sitters  at  their  best,  but  this  we  think  could  have  been  only 
very  partially  true.  It  may  be  conceded  theoretically  that 
the  world  loves  truth  rather  than  falsehood,  but  with  relation 
to  the  visual  presentment,  the  artistic  simulacrum  of  individual 
humanity,  it  were  more  true  to  say  that  the  world  shrinks  from 
perfect  truth,  and  very  much  prefers  the  sort  and  degree  of 
falsehood  which  was  supplied  by  the  courtly  Lawrence  and  by 
Beechey,  fanned  by  the  plumes  of  princesses.  Owen  probably 
fell  short  of  their  standard,  but  if  he  refused  to  conduct  his 
sitters  into  the  inner  recesses  of  that  paradise,  in  which  a 
certain  class  of  persons  love  to  dwell,  he  certainly  planted  them 
on  its  outskirts,  else  they  had  forsaken  him  and  turned  to 
other  and  more  complaisant  guides.  And  this  the  world  never 
did,  but,  on  the  contrary,  maintained  him  in  affluence  until  the 
close  of  his  career  in  1825.  In  the  last  five  years  of  his  life  he 
had  fallen  into  a  state  of  utter  debility,  from  which  he  was 
relieved,  we  are  almost  inclined  to  say  mercifully,  by  the 
mistake  of  a  chemist  who  mixed  a  poison  in  his  dose. 

SAMUEL  WOODFORDE,  R.A., 

was  born  at  Castle  Gary,  Somersetshire,  in  1763.  Having  shown 
at  an  early  age  a  great  talent  for  art  he  was  enabled  by  the  help 
of  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  to  enter  the  Academy  schools  in  1782,  and 
the  same  kind  patron  sent  him  three  years  later  to  Italy. 
While  in  Rome  he  followed  the  usual  course  of  artistic  educa- 
tion, than  which  nothing  it  was  then  thought  could  be  more 
perfect.  It  obeyed  the  laws  of  an  eclecticism  which  had  been 
originally  borrowed  from  the  Carracci,  though  subsequently 
perfected  by  restricting  the  field  of  study  to  Raphael  and 
Michael  Angelo  for  design  and  to  the  Venetians  for  colouring, 
and  into  this  hole  all  the  pegs,  round,  square,  or  whatever  their 
shape  may  have  been  had  to  be  fitted. 

Woodforde  returned  to   England   in   1791,  where  he  very 

Q 


242       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

soon  acquired  a  conspicuous  position  as  a  painter  of  history, 
choosing  classical  scenes  by  preference  and  exhibiting  very 
correct  drawings,  with  "  an  attractive  mode  of  treatment."  He 
was  elected  an  Associate  in  1800,  and  an  Academician  in  1807. 
He  died  of  a  fever  at  Bologna  in  1817. 

HENRY  HOWARD,  R.A. 

Henry  Howard  was  born  in  1769,  and  after  being  a  pupil 
of  Philip  Reinagle,  entered  the  Academy  schools  at  the  age 
of  nineteen.  Two  years  afterwards,  on  loth  December  1790, 
he  obtained  the  two  highest  prizes  awarded,  viz.,  the  first  silver 
medal  for  the  best  drawing  from  the  life,  and  the  gold  medal 
for  the  best  historical  painting,  the  subject  being  "  A  Scene 
from  Mason's  '  Caractacus.' "  In  the  following  year  he  went 
to  Rome,  and  studied  there  with  Flaxman,  not  returning  to 
England  till  1794.  Six  years  afterwards  he  was  elected  an 
Associate,  and  an  Academician  in  1808.  In  1810  he  was 
appointed  Deputy  Secretary,  and  on  the  death  of  Richards,  in 
i8ii,was  elected  to  succeed  him  as  Secretary,  a  post  he  held 
till  his  death,  in  1 847,  though  his  age  and  infirmities  rendered 
the  appointment  of  a  deputy  necessary  at  the  beginning  of  that 
year.  The  minutes  kept  by  him  are  models  of  precise  verbiage 
and  neat  handwriting  till  near  the  end  of  his  time,  when  the 
writing  certainly  shows  distinct  signs  of  feebleness.  He  was 
also  elected  Professor  of  Painting  in  succession  to  Thomas 
Phillips  in  1833,  and  held  this  post  likewise  till  his  death. 
He  had  been  connected  with  the  Academy  in  one  capacity  or 
another  for  sixty-one  years  of  his  life. 

Howard,  when  a  young  man  in  Italy,  had  devoted  himself 
with  immense  industry  to  the  study  of  Grecian  sculpture.  In 
conjunction  with  a  sculptor  of  the  name  of  Deare,  he  made  a 
series  of  exquisite  drawings  after  the  masterpieces  of  ancient 
art,  and  to  this  culture  he  adhered  unswervingly  all  his  life. 
Both  by  examples  in  his  works  and  by  precept  in  his  lectures 


HENRY  HOWARD  243 

he  maintained  the  ideal  theory  as  based  upon  Greek  models. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  taste  and  refinement,  qualities  which 
were  happily  combined  with  earnestness,  industry,  and  single- 
mindedness,  and  with  their  aid  throughout  a  long  life,  he  pro- 
duced a  vast  number  of  pictures  of  a  high  average  of  excellence, 
though  he  failed  necessarily  in  attaining  the  point  of  mastery. 
His  art  is  strictly  academic,  and  it  is  difficult  to  detect  in  it  any 
inspiration  from  nature,  as  derived  directly  from  her  without 
transmission  through  another  mind. 

Howard,  though  born  in  1769,  and  touching  hands  with 
Reynolds  and  the  fathers  of  English  Art,  is  also  associated  with 
artists  who  were  living  and  painting  in  the  nineteenth  century ; 
he  was  a  competitor  for  the  Westminster  cartoons  in  his 
seventy-fourth  year,  and  received  a  premium  of  £100  at  the 
same  time  with  Watts,  Horsley,  and  others ;  and  his  life 
becomes  doubly  interesting,  not  only  for  his  influence  and 
activity  as  a  member  of  the  Royal  Academy,  but  as  bridging 
over  a  wide  gulf  of  time. 

We  know  that  Reynolds  saw  Pope,  Howard  saw  Reynolds, 
and  no  doubt  Watts  saw  Howard — four  lives  suffice  to  fill  up 
the  interval  between  the  first  decade  of  the  eighteenth  and  the 
first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  centuries. 

THOMAS  PHILLIPS,  R.A. 

Thomas  Phillips  is  a  name  of  considerable  note  in  British 
Art  history;  though  his  work  is  interesting  perhaps  quite 
equally  from  an  historical  as  from  an  artistic  point  of  view.  He 
had  the  good  fortune  to  paint  most  of  the  eminent  literary  and 
scientific  men  of  his  time ;  he  lived  in  an  era  of  great  literary 
splendour,  and  it  is  by  his  pencil,  more  particularly  than  any 
other,  that  we  have  been  made  familiar  with  the  features  and 
appearance  of  Byron,  Scott,  Southey,  Coleridge,  Campbell,  and 
a  number  of  other  great  men. 

His  portrait  of  Byron  in  a  Greek  dress  is  the  standard 


244       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

likeness  of  the  poet,  as  it  is  the  most  beautiful ;  indeed,  the 
engraving  after  Phillips,  which  forms  the  frontispiece  to  the  1815 
edition  of  the  poems,  appears  more  beautiful  than  any  face 
ever  seen  in  life ;  it  is  the  face  of  a  poet,  and  beautiful  with  a 
Hyperion  beauty,  etherealised  and  sublimated  until  all  earthly 
coarseness  has  disappeared.  It  is  not  only  the  poets,  but  the 
great  scientific  men  of  his  age,  Sir  H.  Davy,  Faraday,  Sedg- 
wick,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  others,  whose  likenesses  have  been 
handed  down  to  us  by  Phillips,  and  they  are  seen  probably  at 
their  best ;  indeed,  one  cannot  help  suspecting  him  of  having 
occasionally  flattered  his  sitters,  either  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously. 

Of  conscious  flattery  in  portrait  painting,  all  that  need  be 
said  is  that  it  destroys  character,  and  is  a  step  towards  man- 
nerism. But  in  unconscious  flattery  we  often  have  the  highest 
attainable  truth  about  a  man ;  it  is  a  glimpse  into  his  inner 
being,  a  sort  of  intuition  which  has  been  vouchsafed  to  the 
painter  which  he  has  followed,  and  rendered,  perhaps  unknow- 
ingly to  himself;  what  may  be  called  the  central  idea  of  that 
man,  what  he  was  intended  to  be  by  nature,  and  what  he  is 
painfully  struggling  to  be  in  a  world  full  of  carnal  impediments. 

This  Thomas  Phillips  came  from  Dudley,  in  Worcestershire, 
where  he  first  saw  the  light  in  1770.  He  had  had  some  partial 
instruction  in  Art,  and  came  to  London  provided  with  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  Benjamin  West,  who  found  employment  for 
him  in  glass  painting  at  St  George's  Chapel,  Windsor.  In  1791 
he  became  a  student  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  after  certain 
preliminary  and  tentative  efforts  in  historical  and  even  landscape 
painting,  seems  finally  to  have  settled  down  to  portraiture  in 
1796.  Like  most  portrait  painters,  Phillips  would  at  times  grow 
impatient  of  the  restraints  and  the  more  or  less  mechanical 
conditions  of  his  occupation,  and  would  indulge  his  fancy  with 
some  historical  or  poetical  conception — such  as  the  "  Venus  and 
Adonis"  which  he  presented  to  the  Royal  Academy  as  his 
diploma  work.  But  his  long  and  industrious  life,  prolonged  for 


THOMAS  PHILLIPS  245 

seventy-five  years,  was  mainly  devoted  to  portraiture,  and,  as 
we  have  already  said,  he  handed  down  to  posterity  a  mass  of 
authentic  documents  of  the  highest  biographical  interest. 

From  1804  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  resided  at  No.  8 
George  Street,  Hanover  Square ;  he  was  elected  an  Associate 
in  that  same  year,  and  a  full  Academician  in  1808.  He  suc- 
ceeded Fuseli  as  Professor  of  Painting  in  1825,  a  post  which  he 
held  for  seven  years,  and  he  died  in  1845. 

His  manner  as  a  painter  was  sprightly  and  entertaining, 
he  is  never  dull  or  heavy ;  he  was  a  correct  draughtsman,  and 
his  colouring,  like  his  handling,  is  bright  and  lively.  One  cannot 
reckon  him  amongst  the  great  men ;  he  had  much  more  affinity 
with  Lawrence  than  with  Reynolds  or  Gainsborough  ;  but  he  is 
very  characteristic  of  his  age,  and  his  works  are  easily  recognised. 
To  the  tutored  eye  the  touch  of  Phillips  is  no  doubt  like  the 
handwriting  of  a  friend  seen  on  an  envelope  before  it  is  torn 
open,  and  whatever  may  have  been  the  man's  merits  or  demerits, 
one  charm  he  has,  namely,  that  of  being  uniformly  interesting 
and  individual. 

NATHANIEL  MARCHANT,  R.A., 

was  celebrated  as  a  sculptor  of  intaglios,  medals,  and  poetical 
designs  for  cameos  ;  he  held  several  appointments  in  connection 
with  these  arts — such  as  assistant  engraver  to  the  mint,  gem 
sculptor  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  engraver  to  the  king,  and  chief 
engraver  of  stamps. 

He  was  born  in  Sussex  in  1739,  and  after  studying  under 
Burch,  became  in  1766  a  member  of  the  Incorporated  Society 
of  Artists.  In  1773  he  went  to  Rome,  and  remained  there  till 
1789,  when,  having  already  obtained  a  great  reputation  for  his 
gems,  he  returned  to  London,  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1791, 
Royal  Academician  in  1809,  and  closed  his  worthy  and  respected 
life  in  1816,  in  his  seventy-seventh  year. 

It  may  be  mentioned,  as  not  without  interest,  that  Marchant 


246       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

first  offered  as  his  diploma  work  a  set  of  impressions  of  gems 
he  had  cut,  and  when  these  were  refused  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  not,  as  required  by  the  Academy,  "  original  work,"  he 
sent  a  cast  of  a  female  head,  which  likewise  was  declined : 
"casts  not  being  deemed  admissible  from  sculptors."  Subse- 
quently, he  submitted  a  gem  which  was  accepted.  The 
impressions  offered  in  the  first  instance  were  afterwards 
presented  by  him  to  the  Academy. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ROYAL    ACADEMICIANS    ELECTED    DURING    THE    PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN  WEST— continued 

SIR  AUGUSTUS  WALL  CALLCOTT,  R.A. 

SIR  AUGUSTUS  CALLCOTT  may  justly  be  looked  upon  as  the 
first  of  the  many  painters  of  distinction  who  have  rendered  the 
classic  neighbourhood  of  Kensington  famous  for  the  number  of 
its  studios.  He  was  born  in  "  The  Mall,"  and  he  lived  and  died 
there.  Kensington  at  the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  a  mere  country  suburb,  the  Bayswater  Road  which 
connects  North  Kensington  with  the  metropolis  being  at  that 
time  a  lonesome  thoroughfare  at  night,  beset  by  roughs  and  foot- 
pads ;  even  in  1812,  when  Wilkie  came  to  live  in  Phillimore 
Gardens,  he  was  always  nervous  as  to  walking  home  from  town 
at  night  unaccompanied,  declaring  that  "Several  people  had 
been  lost  there  "  ;  though  he  would,  with  characteristic  Scottish 
caution,  somewhat  qualify  his  remark  by  adding,  "  But  on  the 
other  hand  several  people  have  been  found  there." 

Callcott's  father  was  a  builder,  with  a  considerable  business 
in  that  neighbourhood ;  the  old  Orangery  in  the  gardens  of 
Kensington  Palace  was  undoubtedly  built  by  him,  as  was  also 
probably  The  Mall  itself,  and  most  of  the  other  old  houses  of 
that  period  in  the  vicinity. 

Augustus  Wall  Callcott,  born  in  1779,  was  nine  years  younger 
than  his  brother,  the  celebrated  musical  composer,  John  Wall 
Callcott,  under  whose  influence  he  made  considerable  progress  in 

247 


248       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

the  study  of  music,  and  when  a  boy  occupied  a  seat  in  the  choir 
at  Westminster  Abbey.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  young 
Callcott,  inspired  it  is  said  by  the  sight  of  Stothard's  exquisite 
illustrations  to  Robinson  Crusoe,  resolved  to  abandon  music  and 
devote  himself  entirely  to  painting.  He  became  a  student  of 
the  Royal  Academy  in  1797,  and  about  that  time  he  was  also 
working  in  the  studio  of  Hoppner,  the  portrait  painter.  In  1799 
he  exhibited  a  portrait  done  under  the  tuition  of  his  master,  who 
soon  afterwards  expressed  himself  as  so  pleased  with  his  pupil's 
works  that  he  recommended  him  to  put  down  his  name  for 
election  as  an  Associate  ;  this,  however,  he  does  not  appear  to 
have  done,  as  his  name  is  not  found  on  the  list  of  candidates  till 
the  election  of  4th  November  1805,  when  he  received  no  vote. 

On  the  next  occasion,  however,  3rd  November  1806,  he  was 
successful.  Whether  his  disappointment  on  the  first  occasion 
had  anything  to  do  with  it  or  not,  it  was  about  this  time,  or 
perhaps  earlier,  that  Callcott  devoted  his  talents  entirely  to  land- 
scape, and  with  such  success  that  he  had  not  to  wait  long  for  his 
election  as  an  Academician,  which  took  place  on  loth  February 
1810,  the  same  night,  curiously  enough,  on  which  the  death  of 
his  master,  Hoppner,  was  announced. 

As  a  student  of  the  Academy  and  from  his  work  in  Hoppner's 
studio,  young  Callcott,  no  doubt,  must  have  pretty  well  mastered 
the  drawing  of  the  human  figure,  which  not  only  accounts  for 
the  ability  shown  in  the  figures  occasionally  introduced  into  his 
landscapes,  but  prevents  surprise  at  the  success  which  he  after- 
wards obtained  by  the  exhibition  in  1837  of  his  picture  "  Raphael 
and  the  Fornarina." 

It  is,  however,  as  a  landscape  painter  that  Callcott  will 
probably  be  long  esteemed  as  an  artist  of  very  distinguished 
merit.  Though  his  love  of  calm  evening  effects  and  the  placid, 
soothing  character  of  his  landscapes  and  marine  pieces  have 
gained  for  him  from  his  admirers  the  title  of  the  "  English  Claude," 
the  monotony  of  his  scheme  of  colour  and  its  lack  of  sparkle, 
depth,  and  richness,  place  him,  in  the  eyes  of  all  competent 


SIR  AUGUSTUS  CALLCOTT  249 

judges,  on  a  far  humbler  pedestal  than  that  on  which  the  illus- 
trious "pastrycook"  will  ever  stand.  But  though  not  an 
"  English  Claude  "  or  an  "  English  Cuyp,"  he  was  a  thoroughly 
good  English  painter  in  his  own  way ;  his  pictures  possess  great 
breadth  of  treatment,  able  drawing,  and  a  sweet  simplicity  which 
cannot  fail  to  gain  him  many  admirers.  Owing  to  the  sound- 
ness of  his  technique  and  the  workmanlike  character  of  his 
execution,  his  pictures  have  lasted  well,  time  having  done  them 
little  harm,  and,  if  anything,  some  good,  by  mellowing  a  certain 
coldness — a  fault  which  was  sometimes  advanced  against  them 
by  the  critics  at  the  time  they  were  painted. 

Callcott's  works  in  a  way  reflect  the  estimable  and  quiet 
character  of  the  man  himself,  who,  though  slightly  reserved,  was 
social  and  hospitable,  possessed  many  friends  and  no  enemies. 
He  was  married  in  1827  to  the  widow  of  Captain  Graham, 
R.N.,  a  lady  who  had  previously  been  known  as  an  authoress, 
and  who  published  in  1836  her  Essays  towards  the  History  of 
Painting.  She  is,  however,  better  known  to  fame  by  her  Little 
A  rthuSs  History  of  England^  a  work  still,  we  believe,  much  in 
vogue.  In  1837  Callcott  received  the  honour  of  knighthood  from 
the  Queen  ;  and  in  1844  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  Mr  Seguier 
as  Conservator  of  the  Royal  Pictures,  an  office  which  he  held 
for  a  few  months  only.  Lady  Callcott  died  in  1842,  and  on  2$th 
November  1844,  he  also  departed  this  life,  at  Kensington,  in  his 
sixty-fifth  year,  and  was  buried  at  Kensal  Green,  where  a  flat 
table-tomb  marks  the  site. 

To  the  believers  in  heredity,  it  may  be  interesting  to  note 
that  the  late  Mr  J.  C,  Horsley,  R.A.,  was  a  grandson  of  Sir 
Augustus  Callcott's  elder  brother,  John  Wall  Callcott,  the 
distinguished  musical  composer. 

SIR  DAVID  WILKIE,  R.A. 

"  There  is  a  queer,  tall,  pale,  keen-looking  Scotsman  come  into 
the  Academy  to  draw.  N.B. — There  is  something  in  him  !  he  is 


250       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

called  Wilkie."  So  wrote  a  Royal  Academy  student,  named 
John  Jackson,  in  July  1805,  to  another  Academy  student,  named 
Benjamin  Robert  Haydon,  who  was  away  in  Devonshire  at  the 
time.  The  said  student  Haydon  when  he  came  back  to  town 
found  in  the  queer,  tall  Scotsman  an  artist  already  possessed  of 
very  considerable  accomplishments  rather  than  a  raw  student. 
From  his  infancy  David  Wilkie,  who  was  born  in  1785,  had 
evinced  a  strong  propensity  to  draw  whatever  he  saw,  beginning 
when  a  wee,  bare-headed,  bare-footed  urchin,  with  a  burnt  stick 
on  the  walls  of  his  father's  house  at  Cults.  All  the  aversion  of 
father  and  mother  and  grandfather  to  his  following,  what  they 
considered,  as  usual,  an  idle  and  unprofitable  pursuit,  only  served 
to  verify,  as  it  always  does,  the  adage  of  Horace — 

"  Naturam  expellas  furca  ;  tamen  usque  recurret." 

His  father's  successor  in  the  ministry  has  mentioned  that 
when  he  first  came  to  Cults  he  found  the  walls  of  the  nursery 
completely  covered  with  eyes,  noses,  hands,  and  other  parts  of 
the  human  body,  boldly  executed,  not  with  crayon,  but  with  the 
charred  end  of  a  stick.  These  early  drawings  were  afterwards 
obliterated  by  an  energetic  house  painter.  The  parents  and  the 
grandfather  often  shook  their  heads  at  little  David,  and  one 
day,  as  he  was  drawing,  the  old  man  said :  "  Ah,  my  mon 
Davie,  it  will  be  a  long  time  ere  daubing  wi'  a  stick  wull  do 
anything  for  thee."  David  was  not  to  be  deterred,  however, 
and  carried  his  predilection  to  such  lengths  that  though  the 
son  of  a  Scottish  clergyman,  and  more  accustomed  than  others 
to  have  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  continually  impressed  on 
his  youthful  mind,  he  could  not  help  at  church,  in  the  intervals 
of  prayer,  filling  up  the  blank  edges  and  pages  of  his  Psalm 
books  with  sketches  of  any  peculiar  characters  that  caught 
his  eye  amongst  his  father's  parishioners;  who,  after  a  bit, 
went  to  his  father  in  a  body,  and  complained  of  master 
Davie. 

At  length  Wilkie's  father  and  friends,  seeing  it  would  be 


WILKIE'S  EARLY  LIFE  251 

cruel,  if  not  hopeless,  to  attempt  crushing  his  predominant 
passion,  considered  it  more  sensible  to  regulate  it  than  to 
extinguish  it,  and  with  great  judgment  David  was  sent  in  1802 
to  Edinburgh,  and  placed  in  the  admirable  school  then  kept  by 
John  Graham.  Wilkie  always  spoke  of  Graham  with  respect 
and  affection.  Whilst  at  this  school  he  contended  for  a  prize 
in  historical  painting,  the  subject  given  being  the  murder  of 
MacdufFs  wife  and  children. 

One  important  lesson  that  Wilkie  learnt  from  his  father, 
whose  income  was  rather  straitened,  was  the  value  of  money ; 
he  began,  therefore,  very  soon  to  exercise  his  profession  as  a 
means  of  subsistence  so  as  to  relieve  his  father,  and  by  dint  of 
portrait  painting  between  the  years  1803  and  1805  had,  through 
his  exertions  and  thrift,  saved  money  enough  to  enable  him  to 
carry  out  the  project  he  had  formed  of  coming  to  London  to 
enter  the  schools  of  the  Royal  Academy.  It  was  at  this 
time,  too,  that  he  painted  "Pitlessie  Fair,"  a  large  picture 
containing  about  one  hundred  and  forty  figures,  most  of  them 
portraits ;  and  for  which  he  received  £2$.  Burnet  writes  of  him 
"that  from  the  first  he  surpassed  all  his  companions  in 
comprehending  the  character  of  whatever  he  was  set  to 
draw." 

In  a  letter  to  a  Scottish  friend,  Thomas  Macdonald,  I7th 
March  1805,  Wilkie  says,  "I  assure  you  I  am  getting  into 
extensive  business,  and  am  covering  a  great  deal  of  canvas  in 
the  country,  for,  in  addition  to  what  you  send,  the  carrier  brings 
me  great  pieces  of  it  every  week ;  and  there  is  one  advantage 
attends  me,  that  is,  I  am  well  paid,  and  I  believe  I  will  raise  as 
much  money  as  will  keep  me  in  London  for  some  time." 
Having  accumulated  the  necessary  sum  he  sailed  from  Leith, 
and  on  arriving  in  London  took  up  his  abode  at  a  lodging 
in  Norton  Street. 

Haydon  gives  several  characteristic  anecdotes  of  the  early 
years  of  Wilkie  in  London.  One  morning  Haydon  was  invited 
to  breakfast  with  the  young  Scotsman.  On  his  arrival  he  was 


252       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

greatly  astonished  to  see  David  sitting,  in  puris  naturalibus> 
drawing  himself  from  the  glass  !  Without  the  slightest  apology 
for  this  position,  he,  with  the  greatest  simplicity,  replied  to 
Haydon's  inquiry  as  to  breakfast,  "  It's  capital  practice,  let  me 
tell  you  :  just  take  a  walk,"  upon  which  Haydon  did  as  he  was 
bid,  and  walked  till  the  study  was  finished  and  the  breakfast 
ready. 

Not  long  after  this  practice  from  the  nude,  Wilkie  made  his 
first  great  success  with  "  The  Village  Politicians."  This  picture 
was  painted  on  commission  for  Lord  Mansfield  for  £15,  which 
sum,  after  a  little  fencing  with  the  artist,  who  had  in  the 
meantime  been  offered  £100  for  it,  was  increased  to  £30. 
On  the  Sunday  following  the  private  view  of  the  Exhibition  of 
1806,  a  very  flattering  notice  of  Wilkie's  picture  appeared  in 
The  News.  "  Wilkie,  my  boy,  your  name's  in  the  paper ! "  cried 
his  fellow  student  Haydon.  "  Is  it  re-al-ly  ?  "  said  David.  The 
puff  was  read  and  with  a  cheer  Wilkie,  Jackson,  and  Haydon 
joined  hands  and  danced  round  the  table  until  they  were 
tired. 

This  success  introduced  Wilkie  at  once  to  the  notice  and 
patronage  of  Lord  Mulgrave  and  Sir  George  Beaumont,  and  he 
was  dined  and  feted  as  the  artistic  lion  of  the  season  by  all  sorts 
of  people  of  fashion  ;  but  we  learn  from  his  friend  Haydon  that, 
amidst  all  this  triumph,  much  to  the  honour  of  his  heart,  his 
thoughts  went  homewards,  whither  he  despatched  two  new 
bonnets,  two  new  shawls,  ribbons  and  satins,  and  other  things 
for  his  mother  and  sister ;  these  his  landlady  and  her  daughter 
helped  him  to  pack  so  that  they  should  escape  injury  on  their 
voyage  northwards.  "  All  the  time,"  Haydon  writes,  "  Wilkie 
stood  by,  eager  and  interested  beyond  belief,  till  his  conscience 
began  to  prick  him,  and  he  said  to  me,  '  I  have  just  been  very 
idle/  and  so  for  a  couple  of  days  he  set  to,  heart  and  soul,  at 
' The  Blind  Fiddler'  for  Sir  George."  Haydon  tells  us  of  an 
expression  that  Wilkie  continually  made  use  of,  "  Come,  jist  be 
doing,"  which  might  have  been  taken  to  heart,  to  their  great 


WILKIE'S  PICTURES  253 

advantage,   by  his    friends,   the  easy-going  Jackson  and   the 
combative  Haydon. 

Wilkie  followed  up  the  successes  of  "  The  Blind  Fiddler  "  and 
"  The  Village  Politicians,"  both  painted  in  1 806,  by  a  goodly 
series  of  pictures  of  a  similar  style  and  class  of  subject,  which 
do  not  perhaps  excite  so  much  wonder  and  admiration  now,  as 
in  the  days  when  they  were  first  exhibited,  nor  indeed  as  they 
are  entitled  to;  chiefly,  no  doubt,  owing  to  the  number  of 
inferior  pictures  that  have  since  been  painted  by  innumerable 
artists,  either  in  direct  imitation  of  them  or  on  their  lines. 

It  is  in  1809  that  we  first  find  his  name  among  the  list  of 
candidates  for  the  Associateship,  and  on  6th  November  in  that 
year  he  was  elected.  Nor  had  he  to  wait  long  for  the  full 
honours  of  the  Academy,  being  chosen  R.A.  on  nth  February 
1811. 

The  pictures  which  Wilkie  painted  between  1806  and  1825, 
which  all  belong  to  what  may  be  termed  his  first  style,  are  no 
doubt  those  on  which  his  fame  will  chiefly  rest.  The  greater 
number  of  them  were  engraved,  and  the  plates  secured  an 
extensive  popularity.  Wilkie  was  much  interested  himself  in 
extending  the  sale  of  these  engravings,  for  on  a  visit  to  Paris 
in  1814,  with  his  friend  Haydon,  he  took  a  selection  of 
them  with  him  which  he  tried  to  introduce  to  the  notice  of 
the  French  publishers.  His  extraordinary  ability  in  the  com- 
position of  groups  of  figures  and  accessories,  and  in  render- 
ing truth  of  character  and  expression,  is  seen  at  its  best  in 
these  earlier  works ;  no  painter  has,  perhaps,  ever  exceeded 
him  in  the  deftness  with  which  he  could  express  the  twinkle 
of  an  eye  or  the  quiver  of  a  lip.  As  a  superlative  example  of 
his  brush  work  at  its  very  best  we  should  be  inclined  to  select 
the  marvellously  painted  monkey  in  the  picture  of  "The 
Parish  Beadle "  in  the  National  Gallery.  The  expression  and 
character  of  the  animal  has  certainly  never  before  or  since 
been  given  by  any  other  painter  with  equal  truth  and  fidelity. 
The  little  face  has  just  that  look  about  its  eyes  which  caused 


254       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

Jeffreys  to  say  of  monkeys  that  they  always  seemed  to  remind 
him  of  poor  relations. 

After  Wilkie's  visit  to  Spain  in  1827,  he  adopted  a  change 
of  style,  for  which  no  doubt  the  fascinating  works  of  Velasquez 
were  answerable.  Such  pictures  as  "  The  Maid  of  Saragossa," 
and  "  John  Knox  preaching  before  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,"  still 
show  Wilkie's  powers  of  composition  standing  him  in  good 
stead,  and  wherever  he  gets  a  chance  he  displays  his  old  dex- 
terity in  the  expression  and  character  of  the  heads ;  though  he 
is  not  nearly  so  much  at  home  with  lords  and  ladies  or  Spanish 
monks  as  he  is  with  Highland  pipers  or  Fifeshire  peasants. 
At  this  period  of  his  life  he  had  become  the  abject  slave  of 
asphaltum,  which  seductive  but  treacherous  pigment,  though  it 
might  for  a  time  produce  something  approaching  the  deep 
shadow  tones  of  Rembrandt,  would  by  no  means  help  him  to  the 
sombre  and  sedate  greys  of  the  mighty  Spaniard.  You  cannot 
teach  an  old  dog  new  tricks.  Excited  to  a  new  departure  in 
breadth  of  treatment  by  seeing  the  works  of  Velasquez,  it  is 
marvellous  how  Wilkie  totally  failed  in  catching  the  aspect  and 
spirit  of  the  Spanish  master. 

In  one  respect,  indeed,  he  may  claim  resemblance  to  him, 
and  that  is  in  the  intenseness  of  his  nationality.  Just  as 
Velasquez  was  the  very  essence  of  a  Spaniard,  so  Wilkie  was 
the  most  Scottish  of  Scotsmen  ;  he  might  almost  be  considered 
the  Burns  of  Art,  for  his  picture  of  "The  Penny  Wedding" 
breathes  with  the  very  soul  of  Burns.  He  is  never  so  successful 
in  the  expression  of  life  and  character  as  when  the  scenes  and 
the  people  he  represents  are  those  of  his  native  land.  So 
imbued  is  he  with  this  feeling  that  he  imparts  a  sort  of  some- 
thing Scottish  into  the  greater  part  of  all  the  faces  he  paints. 
Even  in  "  Her  Majesty's  First  Council "  there  is  something  of 
the  Scottish  lassie  plainly  discernible  in  the  Royal  countenance. 
This  picture,  painted  in  1838,  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
of  all  Wilkie's  later  works.  None  of  the  Royal  pictures  that 
have  been  painted  of  late  years  excels  this  in  the  happiness  of 


WILKIE'S  CHARACTER  255 

the  subject  and  in  masterly  composition ;  it  is  in  every  sense  a 
perfectly  satisfactory  historical  work  of  Art,  and  it  is  even  more, 
for  surely  there  is  poetic  sentiment  of  a  very  high  order  in  the 
sweet  simplicity  of  this  figure  of  the  Maiden  Queen  seated 
amidst  the  representatives  of  the  strength  and  wisdom  of  her 
kingdom.  When  Wilkie  was  engaged  on  this  picture  he  told 
C.  R.  Leslie  that  Mr  Croker  made  so  many  objections  to  this 
and  that  in  the  composition,  "that,"  said  Wilkie,  "though  I 
don't  like  to  have  words  with  any  man,  I  was  re-al-ly  obliged 
to  have  words  with  him."  This  little  story  shows  how  confident 
Wilkie  must  have  felt  in  his  true  sense  of  composition  as  well 
as  how  ignorant  of  the  subject  Mr  Croker  must  have  been. 

Leslie  tells  of  another  occasion  on  which  Wilkie  stood  out 
for  his  composition  even  against  so  great  a  personage  as  The 
MacCallum  More,  for  when  he  was  painting  "  George  IV. 
entering  Holyrood  House,"  he  had  a  good  deal  of  difficulty 
with  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  whose  fine  face  and  figure  are  con- 
spicuous in  that  picture.  The  Duke,  among  other  things 
protested  strongly  against  the  round  Highland  shield,  because 
he  had  not  carried  one  on  the  occasion ;  but  Wilkie,  who  wanted 
its  form  in  the  composition,  persisted  in  retaining  it 

The  following  extract  from  Leslie's  Autobiographical  Recol- 
lections, as  it  gives  a  very  reliable  account  of  the  personality  of 
Sir  David,  ought  to  find  a  place  here  : — 

"  The  recollections  of  all  my  intercourse  with  Wilkie,  and  I 
knew  him  for  about  twenty  years,  are  altogether  delightful.  I 
had  no  reason  ever  to  alter  the  opinion  I  first  formed  of  him 
that  he  was  a  truly  great  artist  and  a  truly  good  man.  The 
little  peculiarities  of  his  character,  as  they  all  arose  from  the 
best  intentions,  rather  endeared  him  to  his  friends  than  other- 
wise. He  was  a  modest  man,  and  had  no  wish  to  attract 
attention  by  eccentricity  ;  and  indeed  all  his  oddity,  and  he  was 
in  many  things  very  odd,  arose  from  an  extreme  desire  to  be 
exactly  like  other  people.  Naturally  shy  and  reserved,  he 
forced  himself  to  talk.  I  can  easily  conceive,  from  what  I  knew 


256       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

of  him,  that  he  had  a  great  repugnance  to  making  speeches  at 
dinners  or  public  meetings,  yet  knowing  that  from  the  station 
he  had  acquired  he  must  do  such  things,  he  made  public  speak- 
ing a  study.  He  carried  the  same  desire  of  being  earnest  into 
lesser  things,  not  from  vanity,  but  from  a  respect  for  society,  for 
he  considered  that  genius  did  not  give  a  man  the  right  to  be 
negligent  in  his  manners,  even  in  trifles.  When  quadrilles  were 
introduced,  Wilkie,  who  like  most  other  people;  of  his  rank  had 
danced  reels  and  country  dances  only,  set  himself  in  the  most 
serious  manner  to  study  them.  His  mind  was  not  a  quick  one, 
and  I  am  told  he  drew  ground  plans  and  elevations  of  the  new 
dances  to  aid  his  memory  in  retaining  the  lessons  of  his  master. 
Then,  in  dancing  them,  he  never  omitted  the  proper  step,  never 
for  an  instant  walked,  and  never  took  a  lady's  hand  without 
bowing.  All  this,  so  different  from  common  ball-room  habits, 
gave  a  formality  to  his  manner  that  was  extremely  amusing, 
and  his  dancing,  as  indeed  his  mode  of  doing  most  things,  was 
from  the  same  cause  very  unlike  that  of  anybody  else.  He  was 
always  ceremonious  ;  but,  as  I  have  said,  from  modesty  and  not 
from  pride  or  affectation,  for  no  man  had  less  of  either.  Long 
as  I  knew  him,  and  latterly  in  very  close  intimacy,  he  never 
addressed  me  but  as  *  Mr '  Leslie." 

His  death  took  place  on  the  ist  of  June  1841,  when  he  was 
returning  from  a  visit  he  had  paid  to  the  Holy  Land,  on  board 
the  steamer  Oriental ;  he  was  seized  with  illness  between 
Alexandria  and  Gibraltar,  which  in  a  few  hours  terminated 
fatally.  His  old  fellow  student,  Haydon,  thus  alludes  to  his 
burial :  "  As  his  death  was  touching,  so  was  his  burial  romantic  ; 
for  what  Briton, '  whose  march  is  o'er  the  mountain  wave,  and 
home  is  on  the  deep,'  would  not  glory  in  anticipation  at  the 
poetry  of  such  an  entombment  as  Trafalgar  Bay ! "  It  is  no  doubt 
partly  the  romantic  character  of  this  burial,  and  partly  his  desire 
of  paying  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  friend,  that  induced 
Turner  to  make  it  the  subject  of  his  remarkable  picture,  now  in 
the  National  Collection. 


JAMES  WARD  257 


JAMES  WARD,  R.A. 

Thames  Street,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  City  of  London,  with 
its  narrow  thoroughfare  thronged  from  morn  till  night  with  the 
picturesque  forms  of  busy  life,  always  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  ports  or  harbours  of  large  mercantile  towns,  would,  even 
in  the  present  day,  afford  a  most  congenial  and  suggestive 
neighbourhood  in  which  an  English  artist  might  pass  the  early 
years  of  his  childhood.  But  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  no  doubt  the  skies  were  bluer,  and  the  costumes 
of  the  cosmopolitan  population  more  quaint  in  colour  and 
variety,  it  must  have  formed  an  environment  that  could  not  fail 
to  have  had  a  healthy  influence  on  the  youthful  imagination  of 
such  a  truly  English  artist  as  James  Ward,  who  was  born  there 
on  23rd  October  1769.  The  robust  energy  which  is  displayed 
so  conspicuously  in  all  the  works  of  this  painter,  is  somehow 
just  what  would  be  expected  from  one  brought  up  amidst  the 
manly  toil  and  never-ceasing  activity  of  Thames  Street. 

Very  little  is  known  of  these  early  years  of  his  life.  Owing 
to  some  untoward  family  circumstances  he  had  but  a  small 
amount  of  ordinary  education,  and  we  learn  that  when  twelve 
years  old  he  was  sent  to  learn  engraving  under  John  Raphael 
Smith  and  William  Ward  his  elder  brother,  who  employed  him 
chiefly  as  an  errand  boy. 

James  Ward,  however,  knew  how  to  use  his  eyes,  and 
occupied  his  spare  time  in  making  drawings  in  chalk  on  any 
bits  of  paper  he  could  obtain ;  and  after  serving  an  apprentice- 
ship of  nine  years  to  engraving,  turned  his  attention  to  painting. 
At  first  his  style  was  much  influenced  by  the  works  of  his 
brother-in-law,  George  Morland,  so  much  so  that  many  of  his 
early  pictures  are  said  to  have  been  sold  as  Morland's.  Ward, 
however,  had  far  too  much  spirit  and  individuality  to  remain 
long  as  the  mere  imitator  of  another  man's  style.  Resenting 
very  bitterly  the  criticism  on  one  of  his  exhibited  works, 

R 


258      ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

that  "  it  was  by  a  pupil  of  Morland,"  he  determined  to  discard 
for  ever  this  brother-in-law's  delightfully  liquid  and  facile  execu- 
tion ;  and  with  the  view  of  developing  his  own  power,  devoted 
what  spare  time  he  had  from  his  occupation  as  an  engraver,  to 
the  study  of  anatomy  and  animal  painting.  His  heart  was 
evidently  more  with  the  brush  than  the  burin,  though  with 
this  latter  implement  in  his  early  career  he  attained  much 
success  and  considerable  emolument. 

In  1794  Ward  was  appointed  painter  and  engraver  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  for  many  years  was  chiefly  employed  in 
painting  portraits  of  favourite  animals.  He  soon  afterwards 
entered  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  Associateship  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  but  being  principally  known  as  an  engraver, 
he  did  not  at  first  succeed,  since  it  was  for  his  works  as  a  painter 
in  oil  that  he  solicited  the  honour.  The  exhibition,  however,  of 
several  large  pictures,  such  as  "  A  Boa  Constrictor  seizing  a 
Horse,"  "  Deerstalking,"  and  many  other  similar  ones,  at  length 
gained  for  him  the  reputation  as  a  painter  which  he  desired, 
and  after  his  name  had  appeared  on  the  list  of  candidates  for 
some  ten  years,  without  ever  securing  a  vote,  he  was  at  length 
in  1807  elected  an  Associate,  and  was  raised  to  full  membership 
in  1811,  on  the  same  night  as,  and  immediately  after,  Wilkie. 

In  1817  Ward  gained  the  premium  offered  by  the  British 
Institution  for  "  An  Allegory  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,"  and 
was  commissioned  by  the  Directors  to  paint  a  large  picture 
from  the  design  for  ;£iooo.  This  picture  was  exhibited  in  the 
Egyptian  Hall  in  1820,  but  met  with  no  success.  Following 
up  this  fanciful  idea,  Ward  next  painted  sundry  religious 
allegories,  none  of  which  were  favourably  received,  although 
his  scenes  of  animal -and  rustic  life,  intermingled  with  these 
more  venturesome  works,  still  displayed  the  great  abilities  of 
the  artist.  One  of  his  most  remarkable  pictures  was  painted 
in  1820-22,  as  the  artist  himself  informs  us,  at  the  suggestion 
of  West,  in  emulation  of  the  celebrated  picture  of  a  bull  by 
Paul  Potter;  it  represents,  in  life-size,  a  bull,  cows,  calf,  and 


JAMES  WARD'S  PICTURES  259 

some  sheep  in  a  meadow.  This  picture  is  now  in  the  National 
Gallery. 

James  Ward's  pictures  are  remarkable  for  their  vigorous 
boldness  and  originality ;  they  arrest  the  attention  at  once.  His 
delight  is  in  rather  startling  effects  of  line  and  light  and  shade, 
which  at  times  lays  him  open  to  the  charge  of  exaggeration  ;  a 
fault,  however,  which  one  soon  overlooks  on  account  of  the  many 
beautiful  passages  of  tone  and  colour  with  which  his  works 
abound.  His  favourite  scheme  of  colour  and  love  of  curving 
line,  seem  derived  from  the  enthusiastic  admiration  with  which  he 
had  evidently  studied  the  works  of  Rubens.  His  knowledge  of 
the  anatomy  of  the  animals  he  portrayed  was  very  remarkable. 
A  fine  example  of  the  use  to  which  he  put  this  knowledge  can 
be  seen  in  the  masterly  way  in  which  the  white  fighting  bull,  in 
the  picture  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  is  so  to  speak 
"  built  up  "  and  put  together  by  his  powerful  brush  work.  In  the 
rendering  of  the  human  subjects  introduced  into  his  pictures, 
Ward  is  not  always  so  successful,  though  in  his  sketches  and 
drawings  from  nature  of  children  and  peasants,  numbers  of 
charming  examples  can  be  found.  His  technique  was  in  all 
cases  sound  and  thorough;  he  had  a  perfect  mastery  of  the 
difficulties  of  glazing,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  cracks  in 
their  extreme  depths,  his  pictures  have  stood  the  test  of  time 
well. 

Ward  does  not  appear  to  have  taken  much  part  in  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Academy  during  the  forty-one  years  that  he  was  a 
full  member.  He  served  the  regulation  two  years  on  the 
Council  three  times,  1813-14,  1821-22,  and  1830-31,  but  on  the 
three  following  occasions  when  his  turn  came  he  declined  to 
serve  ;  nor  do  his  attendances  at  General  Assemblies  appear  to 
have  been  very  frequent.  Almost  the  only  occasion  on  which 
his  name  appears  in  the  minutes  of  either  body  is  in  1814,  when 
there  is  the  following  entry  on  the  Council  minutes  of  7th 
January,  in  that  year : — "  Mr  Ward  presented  to  the  Royal 
Academy,  a  work  containing  observations  on  two  extraordinary 


260       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

fasting  women,  for  which  the  chairman  (Sir  Thomas  Lawrence) 
returned  Mr  Ward  thanks  in  the  name  of  the  President  and 
Council."  This  book  is  still  in  the  library,  and  is  entitled,  Some 
Account  of  Mary  Thomas,  of  Tanyralt,  in  Merionethshire,  who 
lias  existed  many  years  without  taking  food ;  and  of  Ann  Moore, 
commonly  called  tlie  Fasting  Woman  of  Tutbury,  accompanied 
with  Portraits  and  Illustrative  Etchings.  By  James  Ward,  Esq., 
R.A.  The  dedication  runs  as  follows  :  "  To  the  Right  Honour- 
able Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Baronet,  President  of  the  Royal  Society, 
the  supporter  of  science  by  a  liberal  and  enlightened  patronage ; 
the  disseminator  of  knowledge  by  many  ingenious  productions  ; 
and  eminently  distinguished  by  the  devotion  of  wealth  to  the 
cause  of  Literature,  this  short  narrative  of  some  singular  aberra- 
tions in  the  animal  ceconomy  (sic)  is  dedicated  with  perfect 
respect  and  esteem  by  the  Author."  There  are  seven  large 
plates  from  sketches  by  Ward,  giving  portraits  of  the  two  fasting 
women,  and  views  of  the  houses  where  they  lived.  He  appears 
from  the  narrative  to  have  originally  thoroughly  believed  in 
both  women.  Ann  Moore,  as  stated  by  Ward  in  an  appendix, 
was  subsequently  proved  to  be  an  impostor,  and  he  admits  thr^ 
his  belief  in  Mary  Thomas,  who  had  died  in  the  previous  year, 
was  thereby  somewhat  shaken.  It  is  a  curious  story,  and  is 
quaintly  told. 

The  veteran  Academician  continued  to  exhibit  until  1855, 
having  contributed  altogether  298  works  to  the  exhibitions  of 
the  Royal  Academy  since  he  was  first  represented  on  its  walls  in 
1792,  besides  91  works  to  the  British  Institution.  Towards  the 
close  of  his  long  life,  he  appears  to  have  been  in  pecuniary  diffi- 
culties, as  at  the  beginning  of  1858  he  applied  to  the  Council  of 
the  Academy  for  some  assistance,  and  received  a  grant  of  .£50 ; 
and  at  the  end  of  the  same  year  a  similar  sum  was  given  him 
in  response  to  a  letter  from  his  wife  speaking  of  his  increasing 
infirmities  and  the  need  of  help  to  provide  necessities  for  his 
failing  health.  His  death  took  place  in  his  ninety-first  year,  on 
the  I  ;th  of  November  1859. 


SIR  RICHARD  WESTMACOTT  261 

SIR  RICHARD  WESTMACOTT,  R.A. 

Sir  Richard  Westmacott,  R.A.,  was  born  in  London  in  1775, 
and  was  the  son  of  a  statuary  in  Mount  Street,  Grosvenor 
Square.  He  first  learnt  his  art  in  his  father's  studio,  and 
afterwards,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  went  to  Rome,  where  he 
became  a  pupil  of  Canova.  Being  a  diligent  and  capable 
student  he  soon  made  rapid  progress,  and  gained  the  gold  medal 
for  sculpture  of  the  Academy  of  St  Luke,  for  a  bas-relief  of 
"  Joseph  and  his  Brethren,"  and  shortly  afterwards  the  first  prize 
for  sculpture  at  the  Academy  of  Florence.  In  1796  he  returned 
to  England,  and  exhibited  his  first  work  at  the  Academy  in  the 
following  year.  His  marriage  took  place  shortly  afterwards,  and 
he  settled  down  to  a  prosperous  career  at  14  South  Audley 
Street,  not  far  from  the  residence  of  his  father.  His  work 
received  rapid  recognition.  Commissions  poured  upon  him 
from  all  quarters,  and  his  being  appointed  to  superintend  the 
arrangement  of  the  Townley  Marbles  in  the  new  building  of  the 
British  Museum  showed  that  his  taste  and  judgment  were 
highly  appreciated. 

Westmacott  executed  many  poetic  works,  all  more  or 
less  in  the  style  of  Canova.  He  also  helped  largely  to 
further  encumber  our  cathedrals  with  examples  of  the  large 
pseudo-classic  monuments  to  departed  worthies  so  much  in 
vogue  at  that  time.  Among  them  are  Pitt  and  Fox,  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby  and  Captain  Cook  in 
St  Paul's.  The  statue  of  Fox  in  Bloomsbury  Square,  that  of 
the  Duke  of  Bedford  in  Russell  Square,  and  of  the  Duke  of 
York  on  the  column  in  Waterloo  Place  are  amongst  the  best 
known  of  his  street  monuments.  His  adaptation  of  the  Monte- 
Cavallo  statue,  entitled  "  Achilles,"  cast  from  cannons  taken  at 
Waterloo,  which  stands  at  Hyde  Park  Corner,  has  been  severely 
criticised ;  the  substitution  of  the  property  shield  and  sword  for 
the  reins  of  the  horse  which  the  original  figure  is  represented  as 
holding,  being  especially  taken  to  task. 


262       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

Westmacott  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1805,  and  was  pro- 
moted to  the  full  rank  of  Academician  in  1811,  being  chosen  on 
the  same  night  as  James  Ward  and  Sir  Robert  Smirke.  In  1827 
he  succeeded  Flaxman  as  Professor  of  Sculpture,  and  continued 
to  hold  the  post  till  his  death.  The  first  lecture  he  delivered 
contained  a  glowing  eulogy  on  his  gifted  predecessor,  in  which 
he  says : — "  If  to  have  procured  esteem  whilst  living,  and  to 
have  rendered  himself  useful  to  his  fellow  labourers,  both  by 
his  practice  and  the  examples  he  has  left  us,  demand  applause, 
few  men  have  died  with  stronger  claims  on  posterity."  And  in 
another  lecture  the  following  passage  occurs  : — "  But  the  greatest 
of  modern  sculptors  was  our  illustrious  countryman,  John 
Flaxman,  who  not  only  had  all  the  fine  feeling  of  the  ancient 
Greeks  (which  Canova  in  a  degree  preserved),  but  united  to  it 
a  readiness  of  invention  and  a  simplicity  of  design  truly  astonish- 
ing. Though  Canova  was  his  superior  in  the  manual  part  and 
high  finish,  yet  in  the  higher  qualities,  poetical  feeling  and 
invention,  Flaxman  was  as  superior  to  Canova  as  Shakespeare 
to  the  dramatists  of  his  day." 

The  honour  of  knighthood  was  conferred  upon  Westmacott 
in  1837,  and  the  same  year  he  received  the  degree  of  D.C.L. 
from  the  University  of  Oxford.  This  period  marked  the  termina- 
tion of  his  active  career,  as  he  executed  very  few  works  during 
the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life.  His  death  took  place  in 
1856. 

SIR  ROBERT  SMIRKE,  R.A. 

The  artistic  world  at  the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  at  any  rate  as  far  as  sculpture  and  architecture  were 
concerned,  was  animated  by  a  marked  endeavour  at  a  closer 
approximation  in  style  to  the  chaste  severity  of  pure  Greek  art. 
Extended  exploration  and  the  advanced  enlightenment  of 
antiquarian  research  had  produced  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction 
with  what  had  hitherto  passed  as  respectable  in  the  classic  style. 


SIR  ROBERT  SMIRKE  263 

The  good  old  useful  Palladian  architecture  was  no  longer  in 
vogue.  In  sculpture  the  reign  of  the  gods  and  goddesses, 
nymphs  and  fauns,  and  Roman  emperors  of  the  periwig  period, 
was  over.  It  can  scarcely  be  wondered  at,  for  the  Greek  craze 
was  rampart  everywhere  ;  the  very  dandies  were  then  styled 
"  Corinthians,"  and  the  "  girl  of  the  period "  emulated  in  her 
dress  the  scant  simplicity  of  the  Greek  chiton.  In  those  days 
the  Antique  School  of  the  Royal  Academy  was  in  the  very 
zenith  of  its  glory ;  Fuseli,  its  enthusiastic  keeper,  shouting 
to  the  students,  "  The  Greeks  vere  Gods !  the  Greeks  vere 
Gods ! " 

On  this  great  wave  of  Classic  Revivalism  Sir  Robert  Smirke 
and  Sir  Richard  Westmacott,  twin  brethren  Academicians,  with 
steady  hands  and  unimpassioned  hearts,  without  encountering 
let  or  hindrance  of  any  sort,  steered  their  respective  courses  to 
honours  and  success ;  whilst  others,  less  fortunate,  like  Haydon, 
were  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  of  overweening  ambition,  or, 
like  the  modest  Flaxman,  left  stranded  on  the  cold  mud-flats  of 
neglect.  Sir  Robert  and  Sir  Richard  both  possessed  the  happy 
knack  of  exactly  satisfying  the  popular  taste.  Every  building 
that  was  entrusted  to  Smirke  for  execution,  whether  theatre, 
post-office,  church,  or  museum,  was  sure  to  possess  the  required 
amount  of  classic  simplicity  and  dignity,  the  Ionic  portico  and 
pediment  generally  forming  the  most  important  feature  in  the 
design ;  whilst  in  all  the  monumental  figures  from  the  hand  of 
Westmacott  that  haunt  our  public  squares,  churches,  and 
cathedrals,  we  plainly  perceive  a  more  or  less  successful  amalga- 
mation of  the  modern  gentleman  with  the  hero  of  antiquity,  a 
result  greatly  due  to  the  skill  bestowed  on  the  heavy  draperies 
with  which  they  are  clothed ;  which  draperies,  besides  giving  a 
classic  aspect  to  the  figures,  ingeniously  help  to  support  them 
on  their  pedestals. 

Perhaps  the  most  successful  example  of  the  genius  and  skill 
of  these  two  Academicians  may  be  found  in  the  building  of  the 
British  Museum,  where  the  sculpture  of  Westmacott  adorns  the 


264       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

pediment  of  Smirke.  Sir  Richard's  figures,  although  a  long  way 
behind  those  of  the  Parthenon  in  point  of  art,  fill  their  spaces 
well,  and  help  much  in  the  matter  of  decoration  towards 
the  general  effect ;  whilst  Sir  Robert's  work,  in  spite  of 
the  hostile  criticisms  to  which  it  has  been  subjected,  is  grand 
and  dignified  in  the  noble  simplicity  of  its  proportions,  and,  as 
it  stands  at  present,  is  one  of  the  few  modern  public  buildings 
in  the  metropolis  of  which  the  nation  may  feel  justly  proud. 
The  fine  open  space  in  front  of  the  British  Museum,  which 
allows  so  ample  a  view  of  it  from  Great  Russell  Street,  may 
have  something  to  do  with  the  satisfactory  feeling  which  it 
affords  us,  but  much  is  undeniably  due  to  the  good  taste  of 
the  architect  in  the  arrangement  and  design  of  the  various 
parts  and  proportions. 

Sir  Robert  Smirke  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  painter,  Robert 
Smirke,  R.A.  He  was  born  in  1780,  and  after  receiving  from 
his  father  a  careful  training  in  the  knowledge  of  Art  entered  the 
schools  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1796  and  obtained  the  gold 
medal  in  1799  for  his  design  for  "a  National  Gallery  for  Paint- 
ing." He  subsequently  travelled  abroad  and  on  his  return  in 
1805  published  some  of  the  results  of  his  study  of  the  remains  of 
ancient  Art. 

Thanks  to  the  influence  of  his  father  and  other  friends,  his 
undoubted  talents  were  soon  busily  employed  in  supplying 
London  with  buildings,  for  all  sorts  of  purposes,  in  the  improved 
classic  style  which  he  had  adopted.  Amongst  other  examples 
may  be  cited  the  large  Doric  portico  of  Covent  Garden 
Theatre  burned  down  in  1856,  a  building  further  remarkable 
as  being  the  only  one  in  London  which  was  adorned  with 
sculpture  from  the  hand  of  Flaxman,  an  adornment  for  which 
it  was  indebted  to  the  good  taste  of  the  sculptor's  friend,  John 
Kemble  ;  the  Royal  Mint,  the  General  Post  Office  in  St  Martin's 
le  Grand,  the  College  of  Physicians,  and  the  Union  Club. 

Modern  Architecture  having  no  real  style  of  its  own,  is 
peculiarly  liable  to  the  fickle  changes  of  fashion,  and  an  architect, 


SMIRKE'S  RETIREMENT  265 

if  he  wishes  to  keep  in  constant  employment,  has  to  partake 
considerably  of  the  accommodating  character  of  the  celebrated 
Vicar  of  Bray ;  it  is  not,  therefore,  astonishing  to  find  Sir  Robert 
taking  up  occasionally  work  in  the  Gothic  style,  the  revival  of 
which  was  so  soon  destined  to  supplant  the  classic  in  public 
favour.  Thus,  in  1830-31,  he  designed  the  Library  of  the  Inner 
Temple  in  Gothic,  and  about  the  same  time  was  employed  to 
restore  York  Minister,  after  the  fire  of  1829.  In  later  years  Sir 
Robert  worked  much  in  conjunction  with  his  younger  brother 
Sydney,  and  of  this  union  of  effort  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
Club  affords  a  good  example. 

Smirke  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1808,  and  a  Royal 
Academician  in  1811.  In  1820,  on  the  resignation  of  John 
Venn,  he  was  nominated  by  the  king,  George  IV.,  to  fill  the 
office  of  Treasurer.  That  his  services  in  this  post  were  appre- 
ciated may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  when,  in  1840,  he 
wrote  and  asked  the  Council  to  "  make  arrangements  for  the 
appointment  of  a  new  Treasurer,"  as  he  "  felt  unequal  to  the 
fulfilment  of  the  duties,"  he  was  both  by  that  body  and  the 
General  Assembly  unanimously  requested  to  reconsider  his 
decision.  With  this  request  he  complied,  and  consented  to 
remain  in  office  as  long  as  his  health  would  permit.  This 
proved  to  be  till  1850,  when  he  wrote  that  he  again  found 
himself  under  the  necessity  of  desiring  to  resign  the  office.  His 
resignation  was  accepted  with  many  expressions  of  regret,  and 
of  flattering  reference  to  his  zeal  and  ability,  and  the  uniform 
accuracy  and  attention  he  had  shown  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  Treasurer  for  thirty  years. 

Increasing  infirmities  and  consequent  inability  to  attend  any 
meetings  at  the  Academy  and  take  any  part  in  its  affairs, 
induced  him  in  1859  to  express  the  wish  to  resign  his  Academi- 
cianship  and  make  way  for  a  younger  man  ;  a  step  which,  as  he 
tells  the  Council  in  his  letter,  he  should  have  taken  sooner,  but 
that  he  had  heard  it  was  intended  to  bring  forward  a  measure 
for  establishing  a  class  of  Honorary  Retired  Academicians  ;  as 


266       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

that,  however,  had  not  been  done,  he  would  delay  no  longer. 
His  resignation  was  accepted  and  communicated  to  the  Queen, 
who  was  pleased  to  express  her  approval  and  her  "  full  appre- 
ciation of  the  liberality  of  the  motives  which  had  actuated  Sir 
Robert  Smirke  "  ;  and  a  highly  laudatory  address  was  presented 
to  him  by  his  colleagues.  His  death  took  place  eight  years  after, 
in  1867. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  the  class  of  Honorary  Retired 
Academicians  above  referred  to  was  established  in  1862. 


HENRY  BONE,  R.A. 

The  decoration  of  porcelain  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century  was  still  distinctly  a  Fine  Art,  the  ornamental  groups  of 
flowers  and  little  pictures  adorning  the  cups  and  plates  at  that 
period  being  generally  executed  with  taste  and  care  by  the 
actual  hands  of  the  artists  who  designed  them.  Henry  Bone, 
born  in  1755,  the  son  of  a  cabinetmaker  at  Truro,  was,  in  his 
youth,  one  of  those  whose  genius  was  devoted  to  this  branch  of 
Art.  He  was  apprenticed  early  in  life  to  a  china  manufacturer 
named  Cockworthy,  first  at  Plymouth  and  afterwards  at  Bristol. 
The  knowledge  of  the  operation  of  fire  upon  colours  thus 
obtained  no  doubt  led  him  to  seek  a  further  development  for 
his  art  in  enamel  painting.  In  August  1778,  he  removed  to 
London,  and  earned  a  subsistence  by  making  devices  for  lockets 
and  other  things,  and  painting  miniatures. 

His  first  attempt  at  an  enamel  picture  was  a  reproduction  of 
"The  Sleeping  Girl,"  after  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and  in  1780  he 
exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy  a  portrait  of  his  wife.  From 
time  to  time  he  executed  a  number  of  copies  of  celebrated 
pictures  by  the  Old  Masters,  and  by  Reynolds,  on  a  scale  hitherto 
unattained  in  enamel,  among  them  being  one  of  Titian's 
"  Bacchus  and  Ariadne,"  which  was  sold  for  the  large  price  of 
2 200  guineas.  Besides  these  works  and  many  enamels  from  his 
own  miniatures,  Bone  executed  a  series  of  portraits  of  the 


HENRY  BONE  267 

Russell  family  from  the  time  of  Henry  VII. ;  also  a  series  of 
portraits  of  the  principal  Royalists  distinguished  during  the 
Civil  War,  some  of  which  were  completed  after  his  death  by 
his  son,  H.  P.  Bone. 

Another  great  work  on  which  he  bestowed  infinite  pains 
with  but  little  or  no  pecuniary  reward,  was  a  series  of  portraits 
of  distinguished  persons  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  which 
he  enamelled  from  the  Royal  and  other  collections,  varying  in 
size  from  4  to  1 3  inches.  These  remained  in  his  possession  till 
his  death,  when,  in  accordance  with  a  request  left  by  him,  they 
were  offered  to  the  Government  for  the  sum  of  £5000,  about 
half  their  estimated  value ;  the  purchase,  however,  was  declined, 
and  the  entire  series  was  dispersed  by  auction. 

Bone  was  appointed  enamel  painter  to  the  Prince  of  Wales 
in  1800,  and  in  the  following  year  a  similar  appointment  to  the 
king,  George  III.,  was  conferred  upon  him;  he  also  held  the 
same  post  under  the  two  succeeding  sovereigns.  His  election  as 
an  Associate  took  place  in  1801,  and  was  followed  ten  years 
later  by  his  promotion  to  the  ranks  of  the  Academicians.  As 
has  already  been  stated,  his  work  was  by  no  means  remunera- 
tive, and  in  1832  he  was  compelled  to  apply  to  the  Council  for  a 
pension.  At  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1834,  a  successful 
appeal  was  also  made  by  his  family  to  the  Academy  for  a 
contribution  towards  the  expenses  of  his  funeral. 

PHILIP  REINAGLE,  R.A. 

Philip  Reinagle,  of  whose  parentage  little  is  known,  was  one 
of  the  first  students  admitted  to  the  schools  of  the  Royal 
Academy  after  its  foundation.  He  subsequently  became  a  pupil 
of  Allan  Ramsay,  the  Court  painter,  under  whom  he  studied 
portraiture,  and  exhibited  his  first  picture  at  the  Academy  in 
1773.  Up  to  1785  his  contributions  to  the  exhibition  were 
exclusively  portraits,  but  he  then  abandoned  this  branch  of  Art 
and  took  to  depicting  hunting  scenes  and  sporting  subjects  in 


268       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

general,  in  which  he  met  with  great  success.  The  Sportsman  s 
Cabinet  is  the  name  of  a  publication  by  him  in  which  are  found 
correct  delineations  of  the  various  kinds  of  dogs  used  in  the 
field,  taken  from  life,  and  engraved  by  John  Scott.  Reinagle 
was  an  excellent  copyist  of  the  old  Dutch  Masters,  and  many 
small  pictures  after  Paul  Potter,  Berghem,  Vandervelde,  Du 
Jardin,  and  others,  now  regarded  as  original,  were  made  by  him. 
His  feeling  for  landscape  was  considerable,  and  he  assisted 
Barker  in  painting  many  of  his  panoramas. 

Reinagle  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1787,  on  the  same  day 
as  Sir  Francis  Bourgeois  and  W.  R.  Bigg,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  whereas  Bourgeois  was  advanced  to  the  Academi- 
cianship  in  six  years'  time,  Reinagle  had  to  wait  twenty-five 
years,  till  1812,  and  Bigg  twenty-seven,  till  1814.  Like  Bone, 
Reinagle's  art  does  not  seem  to  have  been  of  a  remunerative 
character.  In  1798,  we  find  him  appealing  to  the  Council  for 
£150,  which  was  granted,  "to  save  him  and  his  family  from 
ruin,"  and  in  1820  he  was  placed  on  the  Pension  List.  He  died 
in  1833. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ROYAL    ACADEMICIANS    ELECTED    DURING    THE    PRESIDENCY 
OF  BENJAMIN  WEST — continued 

WILLIAM  THEED,  R.A. 

A  SCULPTOR  of  considerable  refinement  who  commenced  his 
artistic  career  as  an  historical  and  portrait  painter.  Theed  was 
born  in  1764.  In  1786  he  entered  the  Academy  schools,  and 
some  years  afterwards,  like  so  many  other  artists  of  that  period, 
paid  the  orthodox  visit  to  Rome,  where  he  spent  several  years 
in  study.  It  was  here  that  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  John 
Flaxman,  through  whose  influence  he  turned  his  attention  to 
sculpture.  On  his  return  to  England  he  settled  in  London,  and 
earned  a  very  good  living  by  designing  for  Messrs  Rundell  and 
Bridge,  the  jewellers,  and  also,  as  Flaxman  had  done  before  him, 
for  Wedgwood. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  i8ii,and  an  Academician 
in  1813.  After  his  election  to  the  full  membership,  he  produced 
several  works  in  sculpture,  one  of  which,  viz.,  "  Thetis  bearing 
the  Arms  of  Achilles,"  a  life-size  group  in  bronze,  is  in  the 
Royal  collection.  There  are  also  several  monuments  by  his 
hand  in  churches.  The  influence  of  Flaxman  is  very  evident  in 
most  of  his  works.  He  died  in  1817  at  the  comparatively  early 
age  of  fifty-three,  much  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 

While  in  Italy  he  married  a  French  lady  named  Rougeot, 
by  whom  he  left  three  children  ;  one  of  these,  William  Theed, 
achieved  considerable  eminence  in  his  father's  profession. 


270       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 


GEORGE  DAWE,  R.A. 

George  Dawe  was  born  in  Brewer  Street,  Golden  Square, 
in  1781.  His  father,  Philip  Dawe,  was  an  engraver,  and 
appears  to  have  brought  him  up  to  the  same  profession,  as 
several  engravings  are  known  to  have  been  executed  by 
him  at  an  early  age.  When  he  was  twenty-one,  however, 
Dawe  seems  to  have  altogether  abandoned  this  branch  of  the 
arts,  though  his  productions  indicate  that  he  would  have  taken 
no  mean  position  among  engravers,  had  he  continued  to 
pursue  it.  In  1794,  when  only  thirteen  years  old,  he  entered 
the  Academy  schools,  and  nine  years  later,  in  1803,  obtained 
the  gold  medal  for  an  historical  painting,  the  subject  being 
"  Achilles  and  Thetis  after  the  Death  of  Patroclus." 

Dawe's  good  fortune  was  really  quite  phenomenal,  though 
probably  well  deserved,  for  if  his  genius  was  not  of  a  very  high 
order,  his  industry  and  capacity  for  taking  pains  certainly  did 
much  to  supply  the  deficiency.  In  addition  to  his  successful 
work  as  student  at  the  Academy,  we  hear  of  his  attending 
lectures  on  anatomy,  and  even  practising  dissection.  He  studied 
also  moral  philosophy  and  metaphysics,  and  later  in  life  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  French,  German,  and  Russian.  He  was  elected 
an  Associate  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1809,  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-eight,  and  five  years  later  obtained  full  honours,  present- 
ing as  his  diploma  work  a  picture  called  "  The  Demoniac."  To 
him  was  awarded  the  two  hundred  guinea  premium  by  the  British 
Institution  for  a  scene  from  Cymbeline,  and  a  second  premium  in 
1811  from  the  same  institution  for  a  picture  of  "A  Negro  and  a 
Buffalo."  Another  success  was  scored  by  him  with  his  picture, 
"  A  Mother  rescuing  her  Child  from  an  Eagle's  Nest."  As  well 
as  these  successes  in  original  composition,  Dawe  had  numerous 
commissions  for  portraits,  and  eventually,  in  this  line  of  Art,  his 
fame  became  quite  cosmopolitan. 

Soon  after  the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  with  Prince 


GEORGE  DAWE  271 

Leopold,  in  1816,  Dawe  was  honoured  by  their  patronage,  and 
painted  several  portraits  of  the  Royal  couple  in  all  varieties  of 
costume.  After  the  death  of  the  Princess  he  obtained  the 
patronage  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  went  in  the 
suite  of  his  Royal  Highness  to  Brussels,  and  thence  to  the  grand 
review  of  the  allied  troops  at  Cambray,  where,  and  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  he  painted  portraits  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Lord 
Hill,  and  several  of  the  most  distinguished  Russian  officers. 
After  this  he  was  engaged  by  the  Emperor  Alexander  to 
proceed  to  St  Petersburg  to  paint  a  collection  of  portraits  of  all 
the  eminent  Russian  officers  who  had  taken  part  in  the  recent 
war  with  Napoleon.  He  set  out  on  his  undertaking  in  January 
1819,  stopping  on  his  way  to  paint  various  foreign  Princes  and 
Princesses  and  other  notabilities,  among  them  Goethe.  Dawe 
was  nine  years  in  completing  a  series  of  four  hundred  (!) 
portraits  of  the  Russian  officers,  for  which  a  grand  gallery 
was  especially  erected  at  the  Winter  Palace.  He  remained  in 
St  Petersburg  busily  employed  until  the  death  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  when,  being  ordered  to  quit  Russia,  he  returned 
home  in  1828,  having  amassed  an  enormous  fortune,  In  the 
autumn  of  1828  we  find  Dawe  again  on  the  Continent,  at 
Berlin,  painting  portraits  of  the  King  of  Prussia  and  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland ;  he  also  appears  to  have  been  restored 
to  favour  at  St  Petersburg,  for  in  the  spring  of  1829  he 
accompanied  the  Emperor  Nicholas  to  Warsaw,  there  paint- 
ing the  portrait  of  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine.  This,  how- 
ever, proved  to  be  his  last  work,  for  in  August  1829,  he 
returned,  broken  down  in  health,  to  England,  and  expired  on 
the  1 5th  October  following,  in  his  forty-ninth  year.  On  the 
27th  October  he  was  buried  by  the  side  of  Fuseli  in  the  crypt 
of  St  Paul's. 

Dawe's  habits  were  very  abstemious,  and  as  he  was  in 
constant  employment  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  should  have 
amassed  a  considerable  fortune  ;  a  great  part  of  which,  however, 
owing  to  injudicious  speculations,  was  lost  before  his  death. 


272       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

How  far  the  charges  of  selfishness  and  want  of  generosity 
brought  against  George  Dawe  by  his  contemporaries,  and  which 
earned  for  him  the  sobriquet  of  "  Grub  Dawe,"  were  justly 
deserved,  may  be  open  to  some  doubt.  It  is  quite  possible  that 
the  extraordinary  good  fortune  which  attended  his  labours  from 
first  to  last,  by  exciting  the  envy  of  his  companions  may  have 
given  considerable  bias  to  their  judgments  ;  especially  as  at 
that  period  the  patronage  of  British  Art  was  at  rather  a  low 
ebb.  The  fact  that  Dawe,  early  in  life,  formed  a  close  friendship 
with  that  reckless  genius,  George  Morland,  a  friendship  which 
continued  undiminished  through  all  the  changes  and  trials  of  the 
latter's  life,  and  which  prompted  Dawe  to  publish  his  Life  of 
Morland  in  1 807,  certainly  seems  to  imply  some  generosity  on 
his  part ;  for  we  cannot  suppose  it  possible  that  this  friendship 
could  have  been  maintained  so  long  without  Dawe's  having  to 
render  from  time  to  time  considerable  pecuniary  assistance  to 
his  careless  and  unlucky  friend. 

WILLIAM  REDMORE  BIGG,  R.A. 

Of  the  personal  life  of  this  artist  very  little  is  known,  except 
that  he  was  greatly  respected  for  his  gentle  and  amiable 
character,  and  that  he  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds.  He  was  born  in  1755,  entered  the  Academy  schools 
in  1778  and  began  exhibiting  in  1780.  Although  elected  an 
Associate  in  1787,  he  did  not  reach  full  membership  till  1814. 

That  innocence  and  virtue  were  the  usual  accompaniments 
of  humble  life  in  the  country,  just  as  surely  as  that  vice,  luxury, 
and  extravagance  prevailed  amongst  the  rich  and  town-dwellers 
in  general,  was  so  universally  accepted  as  the  truth  by  poets, 
novelists,  and  dramatists  during  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  that  we  cannot  be  surprised  at  finding  many  artists  of 
that  period  employing  their  talents  as  exponents  of  the  popular 
belief.  William  Redmore  Bigg  was  one  of  these,  his  subjects 
being  generally  little  harmless  and  blameless  episodes  from 


EDWARD  BIRD  273 

village  life,  in  which  the  tender  feelings  of  parental  affection  or 
rustic  society  are  held  up  to  our  admiration.  The  backgrounds 
are  conventional,  consisting  mostly  of  a  few  trees,  a  thatched 
cottage,  the  inevitable  blackbird  in  a  wicker  cage  hanging  by 
the  door,  a  spinning-wheel  somewhere  about,  a  peep  of  sky,  and 
a  few  sheep  in  the  distance.  All  the  members  of  the  family 
are  generally  introduced — children,  youths,  maidens,  and  old 
people ;  and  as  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  beauty  in  the 
faces,  one  forgives  the  strong  family  likeness  which  prevails. 
"  The  Sailor-boy's  return,"  "  Boys  relieving  a  Blind  Man,"  "  The 
Shipwrecked  Sailor-boy  "  are  the  titles  of  some  amongst  many 
other  works  by  Bigg  which  have  been  engraved  and  enjoyed 
a  widespread  popularity.  They  are  often  still  to  be  found 
adorning  the  walls  of  old-fashioned  country  houses. 

These  works  by  Bigg,  when  compared  to  those  by  Morland 
or  Gainsborough,  hold  in  art  much  the  same  position  which 
Sandford  and  Merton,  The  Blossoms  of  Morality >  or  The  Adven- 
tures of  Primrose  Prettyface,  do  in  literature  to  the  writings  of 
Fielding  or  Goldsmith.  In  the  present  day,  there  is  again  a 
demand  for  the  engravings  from  Bigg's  pictures,  harmonising, 
as  they  do,  with  the  old-fashioned  furniture  and  bric-a-brac 
which  is  so  much  in  vogue  amongst  those  who  aspire  to  the 
possession  of  good  taste. 

Bigg  died  in  Great  Russell  Street,  Bloomsbury,  in  1828. 

EDWARD  BIRD,  R.A. 

Edward  Bird  was  somewhat  of  a  self-taught  artist,  and 
though  Constable  has  remarked  that "  A  self-taught  artist  is  one 
taught  by  a  very  ignorant  person,"  still  there  is  always  a  certain 
amount  of  enhanced  value  given  to  the  works  of  such  men  in 
the  eyes  of  the  public  which  proves  greatly  to  their  advantage. 
Thus  it  was  that  when  Bird  commenced  to  exhibit  his  works  in 
Bath  and  London,  the  story  of  his  early  life  greatly  helped 
towards  the  sudden  and  abnormal  success  he  met  with.  Born 

S 


274       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

of  comparatively  humble  parents  at  Wolverhampton  in  1772, 
he  displayed  all  the  usual  precocity  of  genius;  drawing  on 
walls  and  furniture  when  quite  a  child,  receiving  a  box  of 
colours  from  his  sister  at  fourteen,  and  then  being  apprenticed 
to  a  tin  and  japan  ware  manufacturer  at  Wolverhampton, 
where  he  rapidly  distinguished  himself  by  the  skill  he  displayed 
in  the  embellishment  of  tea-trays.  Bird  must  have  had  con- 
siderable self-confidence,  too,  to  help  him  on,  for  on  the  expira- 
tion of  his  indentures  we  find  him  setting  up  as  a  drawing 
master  at  Bristol.  It  was  whilst  thus  employed  that  he  com- 
pleted his  own  artistic  education,  and  not  long  afterwards 
began  to  produce  pictures  of  genre  for  which  he  found  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  purchasers.  When  he  began  to  exhibit 
at  the  Academy  in  1809,  he  was  hailed  by  the  London  connois- 
seurs as  a  sort  of  Bristol  wonder,  just  as  Opie  had  been  spoken 
of  as  "  The  Cornish  wonder  "  ;  and  when  at  length  his  picture  of 
"  Chevy  Chase  "  was  ready  for  exhibition,  the  tongue  of  praise 
was  so  loud  in  its  favour  that  poor  Wilkie,  in  a  fit  of  timidity, 
withheld  his  own  picture  from  the  exhibition  for  that  year. 
"  The  Death  of  Eli "  succeeded  this  picture,  and  was  equally 
successful. 

A  proof  of  the  rapid  success  Bird  met  with  may  be  found 
in  the  fact  that,  elected  an  Associate  on  2nd  November  1812, 
he  was  promoted  to  full  membership  of  the  Academy  on 
roth  February  1815,  having  had  but  a  little  over  two  years  to 
wait. 

But  Bird's  powers  were  not  equal  to  his  ambition,  and  he 
eventually  found  his  true  metier  in  such  subjects  as  "The 
Country  Auction,"  "Gipsy  Boy,"  "The  Raffle  for  the  Watch," 
and  others.  In  his  later  years  he  seems  to  have  again  adopted 
subjects  of  a  loftier  aim,  but  without  much  success,  as  he  had 
not  the  imagination  necessary  for  such  works.  Amongst  these 
later  productions  were  several  scriptural  subjects,  "  The  Death 
of  Sapphira,"  "  The  Crucifixion,"  etc.  He  was  greatly  mortified 
at  the  reception  these  pictures  met  with  from  the  fickle  public, 


SIR  HENRY  RAEBURN  275 

and  this,  together  with  the  loss  of  two  of  his  children,  no  doubt 
hastened  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1819. 

His  friends  and  admirers  in  Bristol  gave  him  a  grand  funeral 
in  the  cathedral,  where  a  simple  tablet  to  his  memory  was 
afterwards  placed  by  his  daughter. 


SIR  HENRY  RAEBURN,  R.A. 

This  distinguished  portrait  painter  presents  a  fine  example  of 
the  perseverance  and  energy  which  are  so  characteristic  of  the 
Scottish  people.  There  is  nothing  in  the  facts  of  his  parentage 
or  of  his  early  life  to  indicate  from  whence  he  derived  his 
artistic  feeling.  He  was  born  in  1756",  the  son  of  a  manu- 
facturer at  Stockbridge,  Edinburgh.  Left  an  orphan  when  only 
six  years  old,  he  received  his  education  at  "  Heriot's  Hospital," 
the  Christ's  Hospital  of  Scotland,  and  was  apprenticed  to  a 
goldsmith  at  fifteen. 

During  his  apprenticeship  we  find  him  attracting  attention 
by  certain  miniatures  which  he  painted.  His  master,  struck  by 
the  youth's  talents,  kindly  introduced  him  to  a  portrait  painter 
of  repute  in  Edinburgh,  named  David  Martin.  Young  Raeburn 
soon  made  rapid  progress  under  the  influence  of  this  artist ; 
and  having  purchased  the  remainder  of  his  apprenticeship, 
commenced  in  earnest  his  artistic  career.  He  had  many  diffi- 
culties to  contend  with,  having  received  no  preliminary  instruc- 
tion, but  by  his  indomitable  perseverance  and  energy  he 
gradually  overcame  all  obstacles.  Making  good  use  of  his 
intercourse  with  Martin,  he  soon  began  painting  life-size 
portraits  in  oil,  and  at  the  same  time  lost  no  opportunity  of 
seeing  and  studying  collections  of  pictures,  so  that  he  soon 
obtained  considerable  popularity. 

When  only  twenty-two  years  old  he  married  a  widow 
possessed  of  some  property,  and  soon  afterwards  came  to 
London,  and  was  introduced  to  Reynolds,  by  whose  advice 


276        ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

he  visited  Italy,  and  remained  there  for  about  three  years. 
In  1787  he  returned  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  soon  acknow- 
ledged the  chief  portrait  painter.  Honours  now  flowed  in  upon 
him  ;  in  1812  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Artists  at  Edinburgh ;  and  in  the  same  year  became  Associate 
of  the  Royal  Academy,  full  membership  following  in  1815. 

His  promotion  was  as  rapid  as  that  of  Bird,  already  alluded 
to ;  indeed  they  were  in  each  instance  elected  on  the  same 
day ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  Associateship,  Raeburn  preceded 
Bird ;  while  for  the  Academicianship  their  positions  were 
reversed.  Raeburn's  offer  of  his  own  portrait  as  his  diploma 
work  was  declined  by  the  Council  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
"  not  usual  to  receive  as  diplomas  the  portraits  of  members," 
and  he  was  requested  to  send  "some  other  specimen  of  his 
talents."  This  he  did  not  do  till  1821,  when  he  presented  "A 
Boy  and  Rabbit."  He  never  appears  to  have  attended  any 
meetings  at  the  Academy,  either  of  the  Council  or  the  General 
Assembly,  and  in  1 8 1 7  he  wrote  asking  to  be  allowed  to  sign 
the  Roll  of  Academicians  by  proxy,  and  so  be  spared  the 
necessity  of  coming  from  Edinburgh  for  that  purpose.  His 
request  was  complied  with,  and  a  copy  of  the  "  Obligation " 
was  sent  to  him  to  sign,  and  on  its  return  the  General  Assembly 
authorised  the  President  to  insert  his  name  on  the  Roll. 

Raeburn  had  at  one  time  proposed  to  come  South,  and  set 
up  his  studio  in  London,  but  he  was  dissuaded  from  this  by 
Lawrence.  Whether  alarm  at  the  brilliancy  of  the  Scotsman's 
success  had  anything  to  do  with  the  tendering  of  this  advice 
we  cannot  say,  but  at  any  rate  the  advice  was  sound,  for  in  the 
North  Raeburn  had  the  whole  field  to  himself,  whereas  in 
London,  besides  Lawrence,  there  were  several  other  able 
portrait,  painters  already  established.  The  great  number  of 
portraits,  by  his  brush,  of  eminent  Scotsmen,  prove  that  he 
found  no  lack  of  patronage  in  his  own  country.  In  1822,  on 
the  visit  of  George  the  Fourth  to  Scotland,  he  was  knighted, 
and  shortly  after  was  appointed  King's  Limner  for  Scotland. 


WILLIAM  MULREADY  277 

He  did  not,  however,  long  enjoy  these  latter  honours,  for  he 
died  on  the  8th  of  July  1823,  in  Edinburgh. 

Raeburn's  portraits  are  broad  and  effective  in  light  and 
shade,  and  brilliant  in  execution ;  his  colouring  is  always  rich 
and  harmonious ;  his  backgrounds  are  of  the  conventional  type 
so  much  in  vogue  amongst  the  successors  of  Reynolds.  Like 
many  others  of  his  contemporaries,  he  painted  mostly  on  a 
twilled  canvas  known  as  "  ticking,"  which  accounts  for  a  certain 
easy  mannerism  of  execution  which  is  found  in  his  less  carefully 
painted  works. 

Though  always  enjoying  a  high  reputation  in  Scotland, 
Raeburn's  portraits  were  not  so  well  known  south  of  the  Tweed, 
and  it  is  only  within  the  last  thirty  years  that  they  have  gained 
for  their  author,  in  general  estimation,  the  rank  as  a  painter  to 
which  he  was  entitled.  A  collection  of  325  portraits  by  him, 
exhibited  in  Edinburgh  in  1876,  first  attracted  attention,  and 
in  1877  some  of  his  best  works  were  shown  at  the  Royal 
Academy  Winter  Exhibition.  Since  then  he  has  very  much 
risen  in  public  esteem,  but  whether  he  deserves  to  rank  with 
Reynolds  and  Gainsborough,  as  some  of  his  latest  biographers 

assert,  is  open  to  question. 

i 

WILLIAM  MULREADY,  R.A. 

William  Mulready  was  born  at  Ennis,  County  Clare,  in  1786. 
He  came  with  his  parents  to  England  when  about  six  years  old, 
and  soon  showed  considerable  aptitude  for  drawing.  Some  of 
his  boyish  sketches  having  met  with  the  approval  of  Banks  the 
sculptor,  he  determined  to  adopt  the  profession  of  an  artist,  and 
when  only  fourteen  years  old  entered  the  schools  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  where  he  made  very  satisfactory  progress,  supporting 
himself  by  drawing  illustrations  for  a  series  of  children's  books, 
and  giving  lessons  in  drawing,  one  of  his  pupils  being  Miss 
Isabella  Milbanke,  afterwards  Lady  Byron.  He  first  exhibited 
at  the  Royal  Academy,  "The  Crypt  in  Kirkstall  Abbey,"  in 


278       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

1804,  when  only  eighteen  years  old  ;  and  eleven  years  later,  on 
6th  November  1815,  was  elected  an  Associate,  his  promotion  to 
the  rank  of  R.A.  following  three  months  afterwards,  on  loth 
February  1816.  Such  a  rapid  rise  had  never,  nor  has  it  since, 
occurred  in  the  Academy.  His  principal  works  at  this  time 
were  "Boys  Fishing,"  "The  Fight  Interrupted,"  and  "The 
Village  Buffoon/'  his  diploma  work. 

Mulready  was  always  a  very  faithful  and  devoted  member, 
subordinating  his  own  private  and  personal  interests  to  his 
professional  duties.  Himself  devoted  to  study,  he  may  truly  be 
said  to  have  been  always  a  student,  for  throughout  his  long  life 
he  served  the  office  of  visitor  (or  teacher)  in  the  Life  Class 
almost  every  year,  taking  his  seat  beside  the  students,  and  mak- 
ing very  elaborate  and  careful  drawings  in  black  and  red  chalk. 

Although  an  Irishman  by  birth,  Mulready  possessed  few  of 
the  well-known  characteristics  of  his  fellow-countrymen  ;  he  was 
neither  bold,  dashing,  witty,  affable,  reckless,  social,  or  quarrel- 
some ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  quiet,  patient,  and  industrious, 
extremely  cautious  and  guarded  in  his  conversation  and  conduct, 
avoiding  carefully  every  chance  of  giving  offence.  Neither  was 
he  distinguished  for  sociability.  The  friendly  chaff  and  fun  that 
went  on  amongst  the  members  on  the  varnishing  days  had  no 
charms  for  him,  and  it  was  on  his  motion  that  these  festive 
gatherings  were,  for  a  time,  done  away  with,  bitterly  to  the 
regret  of  Turner,  Chantrey,  Stanfield,  and  others,  of  a  more 
affable  and  jovial  character.  These  so-called  varnishing  days 
were  first  established  in  1809;  three  or  more  days,  according 
to  the  discretion  of  the  Council,  being  allowed  to  members  for 
varnishing  or  painting  on  their  pictures.  Mulready's  motion 
was  that  the  Council  "  consider  the  propriety  of  doing  away  with 
the  varnishing  days,  or  making  such  alteration  in  the  present 
arrangement  as  shall  equalise  the  supposed  advantages  of  the 
days  to  exhibitors  generally."  The  Council  adopted  the  first 
alternative,  the  varnishing  days  were  abolished,  and  a  new  law 
passed  merely  allowing  a  member  to  apply  to  the  Council  for 


ALFRED  EDWARD  CHALON  279 

leave  to  retouch  a  picture  if  it  had  met  with  an  accident,  and 
then  for  not  more  than  one  day.  This  self-denying  ordinance, 
however,  did  not  continue  long  in  force,  and  in  a  few  years 
"  one  day  or  more,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Council,"  was  allowed 
to  members,  and  one  day  to  non-members. 

Of  Mulready's  private  life  very  little  is  known,  for  he  was  a 
man  who  throughout  his  long  life  kept  himself  very  much  to 
himself.  When  only  seventeen  he  married  a  sister  of  the  well- 
known  water-colour  painter,  John  Varley,  herself  an  artist  of 
some  merit ;  but  the  marriage  was  an  unhappy  one,  and  after  a 
few  years  they  separated. 

Mulready  was  a  hard  worker,  and  as  his  pictures  were  always 
thorough  and  complete  in  finish  and  execution,  he  seldom  failed 
to  find  admirers  and  purchasers  for  them.  By  far  the  best  in 
tone  and  colour  of  his  works  were  those  he  executed  in  the 
early  years  of  his  membership,  when  the  influence  of  Wilkie  and 
of  the  Dutch  painters  was  strong  upon  him.  The  character 
and  expression  of  the  heads  are  finer  and  truer  in  these  com- 
paratively early  works  than  in  those  produced  in  his  later  years. 
A  great  number  of  his  pictures  are  in  the  National  Collections 
— a  fact  which  is  chiefly  due  to  the  admiration  that  muni- 
ficent patron  Mr  Sheepshanks  had  for  them,  Among  the 
more  important  ones,  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned, 
are:  "The  Wolf  and  the  Lamb,"  "Giving  a  Bite,"  "The 
Whistonian  Controversy,"  and  "  Choosing  the  Wedding  Gown." 

Mulready  lived  long  enough  to  witness  the  Pre-Raphaelite 
revival,  and  to  his  credit  was  one  of  those  amongst  the  senior 
members  of  the  Academy  who  first  gave  encouragement  to  the 
young  school  by  testifying  their  approbation  of  the  sincerity  of 
its  efforts.  His  death  took  place  suddenly  in  1863. 

ALFRED  EDWARD  CHALON,  R.A. 

This  artist,  descended  from  a  French  Protestant  family 
that  had  settled  in  Switzerland,  was  born  at  Geneva  in  the 


280       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

year  1781.  His  father  came  over  to  England  when  his  family, 
consisting  of  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  were  quite  young,  and 
maintained  himself  by  teaching  the  French  language. 

The  boys  early  evinced  a  strong  predilection  for  Art,  and 
Alfred,  the  eldest,  became  a  student  at  the  Royal  Academy  at 
the  age  of  sixteen.  He  possessed  a  strong  sense  of  beauty, 
and  considerable  taste  and  dexterity  of  execution,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  he  was  able  to  support  himself  by  painting 
ladies'  portraits.  His  success  was  rapid,  and  for  many  years  he 
was  very  fashionable  in  this  branch  of  Art.  He  was  elected  an 
Associate  in  1812  and  an  Academician  in  1816. 

He  worked  principally  in  water-colour,  though  from  time 
to  time  he  exhibited  a  few  subject  pictures  in  oil,  amongst 
the  best  of  which  may  be  mentioned  "  Samson  and  Delilah," 
and  "John  Knox  reproving  the  Ladies  of  Queen  Mary's  Court." 
These  and  other  works  of  a  similar  character  were  generally  the 
outcome  of  successful  sketches  made  by  Chalon  at  the  meetings 
of  The  Sketching  Club,  of  which  he  and  his  brother,  J.  J.  Chalon, 
may  be  considered  to  have  been  the  founders.  The  meetings  of 
this  club,  which  included  among  its  members  C.  R.  Leslie,  Bone, 
Stanfield,  Partridge,  and  others,  took  place  once  a  month,  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  members,  on  a  Friday  evening  during  the 
winter  half  of  the  year.  The  sketches,  the  subject  of  which  was 
chosen  at  the  meeting  by  the  host  of  the  evening,  were  gener- 
ally finished  in  about  two  hours,  and  became  his  property. 

Chalon  appears  to  have  occasionally  tried  his  hand  at  other 
forms  of  Art  besides  oil  and  water-colour  painting,  as  an  entry 
in  the  Council  minutes  of  loth  April  1856  states: — "Mr  A. 
E.  Chalon  having  forwarded  for  exhibition  a  sculptured  hand, 
ornamented  with  jewellery  and  lace,  and  called  '  Memorials,' 
the  Council  resolved,  that  though  receiving  the  work  for  exhibi- 
tion, they  would  not  be  responsible  for  any  accident  or  loss, 
nor  should  the  exhibition  of  the  present  work  be  made  a  pre- 
cedent for  the  receipt  of  similar  works  in  other  years."  As, 
however,  no  such  work  is  to  be  found  in  the  catalogue  of 


JOHN  JACKSON  281 

1856,  either  the  Council  withdrew  their  permission,  or  Chalon 
his  work. 

Alfred  Chalon  will  perhaps  be  best  known  in  the  future  by 
his  water-colour  portrait  of  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,  which 
was  painted  about  the  time  of  her  coronation,  and  beautifully 
engraved  by  Samuel  Cousins,  R.A.,  in  mezzotint,  the  plate  being 
deservedly  popular.  In  person  Chalon  was  tall  and  picturesque; 
he  was  rather  dandified  in  dress,  to  the  last  wearing  the  caped 
cloak  with  chain  and  tassels  which  were  in  fashion  in  the  days 
of  Lord  Byron.  His  conversation  was  brilliant,  and  he  excelled 
in  witty  repartee.  He  died  in  1860  at  his  house  at  Campden 
Hill,  Kensington,  in  his  eightieth  year,  having  survived  his 
younger  brother  John  by  five  years. 

JOHN  JACKSON,  R.A. 

This  distinguished  and  brilliant  portrait  painter  was  the 
son  of  a  tailor,  and  was  born  at  the  village  of  Lastingham, 
in  Yorkshire,  in  1778.  He  pursued  for  some  time  the 
occupation  of  his  father,  but  a  sight  of  the  pictures  at  Castle 
Howard  is  said  to  have  awakened  a  love  for  Art,  and  having 
received  permission  from  Lord  Carlisle  to  make  studies  from 
the  famous  works  in  the  collection,  he  soon  displayed  such  skill, 
especially  in  a  copy  that  he  made  of  "  The  Three  Maries,"  by 
Carracci,  that  he  attracted  the  notice  of  Lord  Mulgrave  and  Sir 
George  Beaumont,  who  determined  to  give  him  an  opportunity 
of  following  Art  as  a  profession.  The  latter,  indeed,  behaved 
with  the  greatest  kindness  to  him,  giving  him  the  means  of 
going  to  London,  so  that  he  might  be  able  to  enter  the 
schools  of  the  Royal  Academy.  He  became  a  student  there 
in  1805,  having  already  in  the  previous  year  exhibited  a  portrait 
of  a  boy. 

Profiting  greatly  by  this  liberality,  it  was  not  long  before 
Jackson  took  his  place  amongst  the  principal  portrait 
painters  of  the  day,  and  many  people  of  fashion  were 


282       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

among  the  sitters  at  his  studio,  first  in  the  Haymarket, 
and  afterwards  at  34  Great  Marlborough  Street.  His  fame 
rapidly  increased,  and  on  6th  November  1815,  he  was 
elected  an  Associate ;  nor  had  he  long  to  wait  for  his  full 
membership,  being  advanced  to  the  rank  of  Academician  on 
loth  February  1817. 

In  1819  he  visited  Rome  in  company  with  Sir  Francis 
Chantrey,  and  while  there  painted  for  him  a  capital  portrait  of 
Canova.  But  his  finest  portrait  is  that  of  John  Flaxman,  which 
was  a  commission  from  Lord  Dover,  and  of  which  Lawrence 
remarked  that  it  was  "a  great  achievement  of  the  English 
School,  and  a  picture  of  which  Vandyke  might  have  felt  proud 
to  call  himself  the  author."  He  also  painted  a  beautiful  portrait 
of  Lady  Dover. 

Jackson's  art  was  manly  and  vigorous.  He  excelled  in  the 
brilliancy  of  his  colour  and  execution,  qualities  which  he  owed 
in  great  measure  to  the  keen  and  true  appreciation  which  he 
possessed  for  the  fine  works  of  the  Old  Masters.  He  employed 
almost  all  his  spare  time  in  making  studies  and  copies  from  these 
works,  painting  with  great  rapidity  and  facility.  His  copies 
were  always  excellent,  without  being  servile ;  and  those  that  he 
occasionally  made  from  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds'  works  have  been 
considered  by  competent  judges  to  have  fully  equalled  the 
original  as  to  the  brilliancy  of  their  quality.  He  had  much 
of  the  facility  which  distinguished  Lawrence,  but  escaped 
the  effeminate  mannerism  which  so  often  marred  the 
President's  work ;  and  as  an  instance  of  his  rapidity,  he 
is  said  to  have  once,  for  a  wager,  finished  five  gentlemen's 
portraits  in  a  single  summer's  day  and  received  twenty- 
five  guineas  apiece  for  them.  Between  1804  and  1830 
he  exhibited  no  less  than  166  pictures,  144  at  the  Academy, 
and  20  at  the  British  Institution,  besides  painting  many 
others.  But  although  the  income  derived  from  such  an 
extensive  practice  must  have  been  correspondingly  large,  he 
seems  to  have  been  unnble  to  save  anything,  as  he  left  his 


SIR  FRANCIS  CHANTREY  283 

family  entirely  unprovided  for.  He  was  twice  married,  and 
had  four  children,  one  by  his  first  wife,  and  three  by  his 
second,  who  was  a  daughter  of  James  Ward,  R.A.  His  death 
took  place  at  his  house  in  St  John's  Wood  in  1831. 

SIR  FRANCIS  LEGATT  CHANTREY,  R.A. 

Sir  Francis  Legatt  Chantrey  was  born  at  Norton,  near  Shef- 
field, on  the  7th  of  April  1781.  He  owed  little  to  his  parents  in  the 
matter  of  Art  education,  for  his  father  died  when  he  was  a  child 
of  eight  years  old,  and  his  mother,  when  she  married  again, 
employed  him,  it  is  said,  to  sell  milk  in  the  neighbouring  town. 
A  little  later  he  was  placed  with  a  grocer,  but  at  the  boy's  own 
desire  he  was  eventually  apprenticed  to  a  carver  and  gilder  at 
Sheffield.  While  there  he  no  doubt  became  an  adept  at  carving 
in  wood,  for  Rogers,  the  poet,  had  in  his  possession  a  carved 
sideboard  about  which  he  was  fond  of  relating  the  following 
anecdote.  On  one  occasion  he  had,  in  company  with  Chantrey, 
visited  the  workshop  where  this  sideboard  was  in  process  of  con- 
struction ;  during  the  absence  of  the  workman,  Chantrey  took 
up  the  tools  and  began  working  on  the  carving ;  the  horror  of 
the  man,  Rogers  said,  when  on  his  return  he  saw  the  stranger 
thus  occupied,  was  not  to  be  depicted  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  noticed 
the  skill  with  which  Sir  Francis  handled  the  tools  he  lapsed  into 
silent  and  reverent  admiration. 

Chantrey  was  not  satisfied,  however,  with  so  limited  a  branch 
of  the  art,  and  with  some  of  his  own  money  he  purchased  the 
remainder  of  his  apprenticeship  and  came  to  London  to  study 
as  a  sculptor.  Returning  to  Sheffield  in  1802  he  appears  to 
have  met  with  little  or  no  patronage  until  1809,  when  he  received 
through  a  friend  a  commission  from  an  architect  named  Alex- 
ander for  four  colossal  busts  of  Howe,  Nelson,  St  Vincent,  and 
Duncan,  for  the  Trinity  House  and  the  Greenwich  Naval 
Asylum.  In  the  same  year  he  married  his  cousin,  Miss  Wale, 
and  the  money,  £10,000,  that  he  received  with  her  enabled  him 


284       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

to  clear  himself  of  debt  and  establish  himself  as  a  sculptor. 
Hitherto  he  had  earned  a  subsistence  almost  entirely  by 
portraits  in  oil,  crayon,  and  miniature,  and  by  occasionally 
working  as  a  wood-carver.  He  had,  however,  exhibited  at  the 
Academy  in  1808  a  bust  of  J.  Raphael  Smith,  with  which 
Nollekens  was  so  struck  that  he  is  reported  to  have  removed 
one  of  his  own  busts  in  order  to  make  room  for  the  young  man's 
work. 

From  1809  until  his  death  Chantrey  enjoyed  an  exception- 
ally large  amount  of  patronage  for  sculptured  portraits.  Busts 
were  very  fashionable  during  the  commencement  of  the  century, 
and  a  list  of  those  executed  by  him  would  occupy  much  space  ; 
amongst  others,  his  portraits  of  James  Watt,  The  Earl  of 
Egremont,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Lord  Melbourne, 
and  Lord  Canning,  may  be  mentioned  as  conspicuous  examples 
of  his  power  of  giving  the  life  and  character  of  his  sitters.  The 
fancy  subjects  from  his  hand,  though  they  possess  great  breadth 
and  simplicity,  are  perhaps  a  trifle  heavy  and  conventional.  His 
best-known  work  of  this  kind  is  the  monument  erected  in 
Lichfield  Cathedral  to  the  memory  of  two  daughters  of  the  Rev. 
W.  Robinson,  called  "The  Sleeping  Children,"  which  was 
executed,  like  one  or  two  other  works  of  the  same  kind,  from  the 
designs  of  Stothard. 

The  same  criticism,  too,  applies  to  his  full-length  statues, 
many  examples  of  which  are  to  be  found  not  only  in  England 
but  in  India  and  America.  Their  conventional  and  ponder- 
ous draperies  generally  contrast  rather  ludicrously  with  the 
extremely  real  and  life-like  character  of  the  features.  In  this 
respect  Chantrey's  figure  of  George  IV.  in  Trafalgar  Square 
compares  to  great  disadvantage  with  Wyatt's  easy  and  correctly 
costumed  figure  of  George  III.  in  Pall  Mall,  and  especially  with 
Le  Sueur's  fine  statue  of  Charles  I.  at  Charing  Cross. 

Chantrey  was  elected  an  Associate  on  4th  November  1816, 
and  an  Academician  on  loth  February  1818,  another  instance 
of  rapid  promotion.  He  presented  as  his  diploma  work  a  bust 


CHANTREY'S  WILL  285 

of  Benjamin  West,  the  President.  In  1837  he  was  appointed  a 
trustee.  During  his  visit  to  Italy  in  1819  he  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Academies  of  Rome  and  Florence.  His  death 
took  place  somewhat  unexpectedly  on  25th  November  1841. 
Norton,  his  birthplace,  was  also  the  place  of  his  burial,  he  being 
interred  there  in  a  vault  constructed  by  himself.  By  the  terms 
of  his  will  the  vicar  of  the  parish  receives  from  the  trustees  an 
annuity  of  £200 ;  of  which  £50  is  for  five  poor  men,  £50  for  five 
poor  women,  £50  for  the  education  of  ten  poor  boys ;  and  ^50 
for  the  vicar  himself  on  condition  that  he  keeps  the  tomb  of  the 
donor  in  good  repair. 

A  genial  and  kind-hearted  man,  a  delightful  host  and  a 
liberal  entertainer,  Chantrey  was  very  popular  amongst  his 
fellow  members,  and  was  always  ready  to  help  those  less  pros- 
perous than  himself  by  any  means  in  his  power.  It  is  to  this 
kindly  disposition  of  his  that  we  owe  the  benefaction  of  the 
celebrated  "Chantrey  Bequest."  He  repeatedly  lamented  seeing 
fine  works  of  high  aims  and  meritorious  character  passing 
through  the  exhibitions  without  having  met  with  a  purchaser, 
and  declared  that  he  intended  by  his  will  to  do  something  to 
remedy  this  unfortunate  state  of  things. 

This  intention  he  carried  out  by  leaving  the  whole  of  his 
property  at  the  death  or  second  marriage  of  his  wife,  and  subject 
to  certain  annuities,  for  the  "encouragement  of  British  Fine 
Art  in  Painting  and  Sculpture  only."  This  encouragement  was 
to  be  afforded  by  the  purchase,  out  of  the  interest  of  the  residue 
of  the  estate,  of  "  Works  of  Fine  Art  of  the  highest  merit  in 
Painting  and  Sculpture  that  can  be  obtained,  either  already 
executed  or  which  may  hereafter  be  executed  by  artists  of  any 
nation,"  provided  that  the  work,  whether  "by  a  deceased  or  living 
artist,  shall  have  been  entirely  executed  within  the  shores  of 
Great  Britain."  It  has  often  been  stated  that  Chantrey  intended 
his  money  to  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  works  of  high-ideal 
aim,  which  by  the  nature  of  their  subject  or  from  their  size  were 
not  likely  to  find  purchasers.  But  whatever  his  intention  may 


286       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

have  been  there  is  nothing  in  the  will  that  admits  of  any  such 
interpretation.     In  another  part  it  says,  "  preference  shall  on  all 
occasions  be  given  to  works  of  the  highest  merit  that  can  be 
obtained,  and  the  prices  to  be  paid  for  the  same  shall  be  liberal." 
And  again,  the  President  and  Council  of  the  Royal  Academy,  to 
whom  is  entrusted  the  purchase  of  the  works,  "  in  making  their 
decision,  shall  have  regard  solely  to  the  intrinsic  merit  of  the 
work  in  question  and  not  permit  any  feeling  of  sympathy  for  an 
artist   or  his  family  by  reason  of  his  or  her  circumstances  or 
otherwise  to  influence  them."     The  interest  may  be  allowed  to 
accumulate  for  not  more  than  five  years.     No  commissions  or 
orders  for  the  execution  of  works  are  to  be  given,  and  the  works 
purchased  are  to  be  publicly  exhibited  for  "  one  calendar  month 
at  least  in  the  annual  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Academy  or  in 
some  important  public  exhibition  of  fine  art."     The  President 
and  Council  of  the  Royal  Academy  have  full  control  of  the  money 
to  be  laid  out  in  purchases,  the  selection  being  by  a  majority  of 
its  members  for  the  time  being,  the  President  having  one  vote 
as   a  member  and  a  casting  vote  as  President.      The   names 
of  all   members   voting  for  or  against  a  purchase  have  to  be 
entered  in  a  book  to  be  open  to  the  inspection  of  the  members  of 
the  Academy  and  the  trustees  of  the  will,  of  whom  there  are  five, 
including  ex-officio  the  President  and  Treasurer  of  the  Academy. 
These  trustees  receive  the  interest  on  the  capital  bequeathed 
and  after  paying  the  annuity  to  the  Vicar  of  Norton,  and  two 
other  annuities — one  of  £300  to   the  President  of  the  Royal 
Academy  and  £50  to  the  Secretary — hand  over  the  remainder 
to  the  President  and  Council  of  the  Academy  for  this  purpose  of 
purchasing  works  of  art. 

None  of  these  payments,  of  course,  came  into  effect  till  after 
the  death  of  Lady  Chantrey  in  1874,  but  in  1845  the  Academy 
determined  to  anticipate  Chantrey 's  intentions  so  far  as  the 
President  was  concerned,  and  voted  the  sum  of  ^"300  a  year  to 
Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee  as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  great 
services  he  had  rendered  to  the  Academy  during  his  presidency ; 


THE  CHANTREY  BEQUEST  287 

and  to  supply  to  some  extent  the  loss  of  professional  income, 
caused  by  ill-health  and  his  devotion  to  his  academic  duties. 
The  amount  was  continued  after  the  Chantrey  Bequest  fell  in, 
and  was  subsequently  raised  during  the  presidency  of  Lord 
Leighton,  to  £700  a  year,  in  addition  to  the  Chantrey  £300. 

To  return  to  that  part  of  the  will  dealing  with  the  purchase 
of  works  of  art.  Chantrey  proceeds  in  it  to  say  that  it  is  his 
"  wish  and  intention  that  the  works  of  art  so  purchased  as  afore- 
said shall  be  collected  for  the  purpose  of  forming  and  establish- 
ing a  public  national  collection  of  British  Fine  Art  in  painting  and 
sculpture  executed  within  the  shores  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  con- 
fident expectation  that  whenever  the  collection  shall  become,  or 
be  considered,  of  sufficient  importance,  the  Government  or  the 
Country  will  provide  a  suitable  and  proper  building  or  accommo- 
dation for  their  preservation  and  exhibition  as  the  property  of 
the  nation  free  of  all  charges  whatever  on  my  estate."  This 
object  the  trustees  of  the  will  and  the  President  and  Council  of 
the  Royal  Academy  are  to  use  their  best  endeavours  to  carry 
into  proper  effect.  But  it  is  expressly  directed  that  no  part  of 
the  estate  or  of  the  annual  income  is  to  be  "  appropriated  in 
acquiring  any  depository  or  receptacle  whatever  for  the  aforesaid 
works  of  art,  otherwise  than  in  providing  a  place  of  temporary 
deposit  and  security  whenever  needful  and  in  defraying  those 
expenses  which  shall  be  absolutely  required  for  their  necessary 
preservation."  The  trustees  and  the  Academy  approached  the 
Government  in  1876  and  1877  with  reference  to  the  clause  in 
the  will  regarding  the  housing  of  the  collection,  but  were  met 
with  the  reply  that  there  was  "spare  room  in  the  National 
Gallery  for  any  works  of  either  painting  or  sculpture  which  may 
be  purchased  during  the  next  few  years."  Looking,  however,  to 
the  terms  of  the  Bequest,  they  were  of  opinion  that  they  would 
not  be  justified  in  giving  up  possession  of  the  works  without  a 
distinct  assurance  that  a  separate  Gallery  would  be  provided 
for  them. 

And  so  for  twenty  years  "  a  place  of  temporary  deposit  and 


288       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

security  "  was  found  by  lending  the  works  to  the  South  Kensing- 
ton Museum  and  to  provincial  art  galleries,  who  were  always 
most  eager  to  secure  the  loan  of  them.  In  1897,  thanks  to  the 
munificence  of  the  late  Sir  Henry  Tate  in  building  the  National 
Gallery  of  British  Art  at  Millbank,  the  Government  were  able 
to  respond  favourably  to  a  renewed  application  from  the  trustees 
and  the  Academy,  and  the  eighty-five  works  in  painting  and 
sculpture  purchased  up  to  that  date  were  duly  handed  over  to 
the  Government,  who,  on  behalf  of  the  nation,  accepted  them, 
and  all  others  to  be  purchased  in  the  future.  A  list  of  the 
works  purchased  up  to  1904 — 109  in  all — will  be  found  in 
Appendix  No.  VIII. 

WILLIAM  HILTON,  R.A. 

William  Hilton  had  none  of  the  obstacles  and  difficulties  to 
overcome  which  so  frequently  beset  the  path  of  youthful  genius, 
and  it  is  possible  that  a  certain  insipidity  in  his  otherwise  fault- 
less compositions  may  be  in  some  measure  due  to  this  lack  of 
opposition  at  the  commencement  of  his  career.  He  was  born 
at  Lincoln  in  1786,  and  his  father,  who  was  a  portrait  painter  in 
that  town,  seems  to  have  arranged  that  his  son  should  become 
an  artist  from  the  first,  preparing  and  teaching  him  as  carefully 
as  he  possibly  could.  Thus  it  was  that  young  Hilton  made  an 
early  start.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  became  a  pupil  of 
Raphael  Smith,  the  mezzotint  engraver,  and  in  1 806  entered  the 
Academy  schools. 

Hilton's  ambition  from  first  to  last  seems  to  have  been  to 
excel  in  what  was  termed  "  the  high  historic  style  of  painting." 
His  subjects  were  always  of  the  kind  that  are  usually  selected 
for  the  highest  competitions  in  Schools  of  Art,  such,  for  instance, 
as  ".Cephalus  and  Procris,"  "  Ulysses  and  Calypso,"  "  The 
Good  Samaritan,"  "  Raising  of  Lazarus,"  with  occasionally 
selections  from  Spenser  and  Shakespeare.  Unhappily,  he  had 
not  sufficient  vigour  or  originality  in  his  style  of  painting  to 


WILLIAM  HILTON  289 

overcome  the  lack  of  interest  which  the  patrons  of  art  of  his 
day  felt  for  works  of  this  high  historic  school,  so  that  very  many 
of  his  pictures  remained  in  his  possession  until  his  death.  His 
pictures  were,  however,  very  acceptable  in  the  yearly  exhibi- 
tions, and  he  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1813,  and  a  Royal 
Academician  in  1819,  his  diploma  work  being  "The  Rape  of 
Ganymede."  When  Thomson,  who  succeeded  Fuseli  as 
Keeper  of  the  Royal  Academy,  resigned  that  office  at  the  end 
of  1827,  Hilton  was  unanimously  chosen  to  succeed  him,  and  no 
one  could  have  been  found  better  qualified  to  fill  the  post.  He 
was  greatly  liked  and  respected  by  the  students,  and  received 
from  them  a  valuable  piece  of  plate  as  a  token  of  their  regard. 
They  also  purchased  after  his  death  and  presented  to  the 
National  Gallery  his  picture  of  "  Sir  Calepine  rescuing  Serena." 

His  health  broke  down  in  1836,  and  he  died  at  the  house  of 
his  brother-in-law,  P.  Dewint,  the  water-colour  painter,  on  the 
3Oth  December  1839. 

It  has  been  said  that  it  was  the  lack  of  patronage  which 
Hilton  met  with  that  first  suggested  to  Sir  Francis  Chantrey 
the  idea  of  making  his  celebrated  "  Bequest "  ;  if  so,  it  is  remark- 
able that  the  first  picture  purchased  under  that  Bequest  should 
have  been  one  of  Hilton's  large  works,  "  Christ  crowned  with 
Thorns." 

ABRAHAM  COOPER,  R.A. 

Abraham  Cooper,  born  in  1787,  was  the  son  of  a  tobacconist 
in  Red  Lion  Street,  Holborn.  The  tobacco  shop  proving 
unsuccessful,  the  father,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  bad 
manager,  tried  keeping  an  inn  at  Holloway,  but  with  no 
better  fortune,  and  as  a  consequence  young  Cooper  had  to 
be  taken  away  from  school  when  only  thirteen,  and  some 
money-earning  occupation  found  for  him.  A  congenial  one 
presented  itself  at  Astley's  Theatre,  then  under  the  manage- 
ment of  his  uncle,  Mr  Davis,  and  he  spent  some  years  there 
as  an  assistant  in  the  equestrian  battles  and  pageants.  His 

T 


290       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

leisure  hours  were  occupied  in  making  sketches  of  horses,  and 
in  1809,  without  any  instruction,  he  succeeded  in  painting 
a  portrait  of  a  horse  named  "  Frolic,"  belonging  to  Sir  Henry 
Meux,  who  bought  the  picture,  and  afterwards  became  a  liberal 
patron  of  the  artist. 

From  this  time,  Cooper  took  to  painting  as  a  profession, 
especially  the  painting  of  horses ;  and  numerous  pictures  of  this 
class,  including  portraits  of  the  principal  racehorses  of  the  day, 
came  from  his  brush. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1817,  and  Academician 
in  1820.  His  portraits  of  horses  would  never  of  themselves 
have  gained  him  admission  to  the  membership  of  the  Academy; 
it  was  the  great  success  which  attended  the  exhibition  of  several 
battle  pieces  by  his  hand,  such  as  the  "  Battle  of  Waterloo,"  for 
which  he  was  awarded  a  premium  of  one  hundred  guineas  from 
the  British  Institution,  and  "  Marston  Moor,"  with  others,  that 
gained  him  the  honour.  Cavalry  charges,  in  which  a  black 
and  a  white  horse  generally  figured  in  contrast,  were  the 
subjects  which  he  may  be  justly  said  to  have  made  his  own ; 
these  pictures,  though  on  a  small  scale,  were  highly  finished, 
spirited  in  action  and  correctly  drawn,  but  poor  in  colour. 
Some  of  the  illustrations  to  the  author's  edition  of  the  Waverley 
Novels  are  the  work  of  his  hand. 

Abraham  Cooper's  picturesque  and  venerable  head  was  well- 
known  to  the  students  of  the  Academy  as  visitor  during  the  last 
years  in  which  the  Royal  Academy  occupied  the  premises  in 
Trafalgar  Square.  He  exhibited  a  great  deal  of  shrewd  common 
sense  in  conversation,  and  he  was  generally  called  by  his 
brother  members  "  Horse  Cooper,"  in  order  to  distinguish  him 
from  the  well-known  painter  of  cattle,  Thomas  Sidney  Cooper, 
R.A.  For  some  years  before  his  death,  which  occurred  at 
Greenwich  on  24th  December  1868,  Cooper  was  in  distressed 
circumstances,  and  numerous  grants  were  made  to  him  by  the 
Academy  from  1857  until  1866,  when  he  applied  to  be  placed 
on  the  list  of  Honorary  Retired  Academicians. 


WILLIAM  COLLINS  291 


WILLIAM  COLLINS,  R.A. 

Besides  being  a  painter  and  picture  dealer,  Collins's  father, 
who  was  a  native  of  Wicklow,  was  something  of  an  author, 
having  published  a  novel  called  The  Memoirs  of  a  Picture,  a 
poem  on  the  Slave  Trade,  and  a  Life  of  George  Morland. 
Young  Collins  was  born  in  Great  Titchfield  Street,  London,  in 
1788.  As  a  child  he  showed  a  great  aptitude  for  and  love  of 
drawing,  and  he  had  the  good  fortune,  through  his  father's 
intimacy  with  George  Morland,  to  obtain  that  gifted,  but 
eccentric,  painter's  advice  in  his  studies.  Though  in  after  life 
he  did  not  himself  think  he  had  gained  much  practical  advantage 
from  this  instruction,  his  admiration  for  Morland's  style, 
together  with  the  success  that  attended  his  friend  Wilkie's  early 
pictures,  no  doubt  very  much  influenced  him  in  his  determination 
to  select  for  the  subjects  of  his  pictures,  scenes  and  episodes  of 
rustic  life,  in  the  portrayal  of  which  he  afterwards  so  much 
distinguished  himself. 

Collins  was  admitted  a  student  of  the  Royal  Academy  in 
January  1807,  and  in  the  same  year  sent  two  small  views  of 
Millbank  to  the  exhibition.  In  1809  he  was  awarded  a  silver 
medal  for  a  drawing  from  the  life.  He  then  became  a  regular 
exhibitor  both  at  the  British  Institution  and  at  the  Royal 
Academy,  among  his  first  early  subject-pictures  being  "  Boys  at 
Breakfast"  and  "Boys  with  a  Bird's  Nest."  His  father's  death 
in  1812  left  young  Collins  the  responsibility  of  having  to 
support  his  mother  and  brother,  and  he  seems  to  have  exerted 
himself  bravely  under  the  trial ;  for  in  the  same  year  he  made  a 
great  success  with  his  picture,  "  The  Sale  of  the  Pet  Lamb,"  a 
subject  very  likely  suggested  by  his  having  had  to  dispose  of 
the  furniture  and  other  household  effects  in  order  to  pay  off  his 
father's  debts.  In  1814  his  picture,  "Bird  Catchers,"  gained 
him  his  election  as  an  Associate,  and  it  was  soon  after  this  that 
he  added  to  the  range  of  his  subjects  those  taken  from  fisher- 


292       ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

men's  haunts  and  habits  on  the  coast,  subjects  which  he  treated 
with  much  sweetness  and  ability,  especially  with  regard  to  the 
atmospheric  effects ;  it  is  more  than  likely  that  on  the  pictures 
of  this  class,  too  numerous  to  mention,  his  future  fame  will 
chiefly  rest. 

But  though  both  industrious  and  successful,  his  pecuniary 
affairs  at  this  time  were  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  state.  An 
entry  in  his  diary  in  1816  states  that  he  is  making  it  on  "a 
dreary,  black-looking  April  day,  with  one  sixpence  in  my 
pocket,  seven  hundred  pounds  in  debt,  shabby  clothes,  a  fine 
house,  and  large  book  of  my  own  handiwork."  From  this 
position,  however,  he  was  extricated  by  the  liberality  of  Sir 
Thomas  Heathcote,  who  advanced  the  means  of  going  to 
Hastings,  where  he  first  began  those  sea  subjects  which  after- 
wards proved  so  successful.  In  1820  he  was  chosen  an  Acade- 
mician, having  missed  his  election  the  year  before  by  one  vote 
against  Hilton,  and  from  that  period  enjoyed  an  uninterrupted 
career  of  success  in  the  branch  of  art  which  he  had  chosen. 
Urged  thereto  by  Sir  David  Wilkie,  and  no  doubt  desirous  of 
varying  his  subjects,  he  went,  in  1837,  to  Italy,  and  remained 
there  for  two  years.  The  result  was  seen  in  the  many  pictures 
of  Italian  life  and  scenery  which  came  from  his  brush  after  his 
return  to  England.  But  neither  these,  nor  those  of  religious 
subjects  which  are  found  among  his  later  works,  can  be  said  to 
have  added  to  his  reputation.  Before  his  death,  however,  he 
returned  to  the  seashore  subjects,  for  which  he  had  most 
sympathy,  and  to  the  end  there  was  no  falling  off  in  his 
powers,  his  last  picture,  "  Early  Morning,"  being  one  of  his  most 
beautiful. 

It  was  in  Italy  that,  by  imprudently  sketching  in  the  noon- 
day sun,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  disease  of  the  heart  which 
eventually  caused  his  death.  The  last  years  of  his  life  were 
passed  in  much  suffering,  and  his  death  took  place  in  London 
on  the  I /th  of  February  1847,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of 
fifty-eight.  The  total  number  of  works  exhibited  by  Collins 


WILLIAM  COLLINS  293 

at  the  Royal  Academy  and  the  British  Institution  was  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine.  Several  of  his  pictures  are  in  the 
National  Collection  :— "  The  Shrimpers,"  "  Happy  as  a  King," 
"  The  Stray  Kitten,"  "  Rustic  Civility,"  and  some  Italian  scenes 
as  well. 

In  1822  he  married  the  daughter  of  Andrew  Geddes,  A.,  by 
whom  he  had  two  sons,  the  elder,  William  Wilkie  Collins,  the 
well-known  novelist,  who  wrote  an  interesting  life  of  his  father, 
and  the  younger,  Charles  Allston  Collins,  one  of  the  earliest 
followers  of  the  pre-Raphaelite  school. 

Collins  was  elected  Librarian  of  the  Royal  Academy  in 
1840,  in  succession  to  George  Jones,  but  resigned  in  1842  in 
consequence  of  the  increased  hours  of  attendance  in  the  Library 
required  by  the  Council. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  DURING  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF  BENJAMIN 
WEST  WHO  DID  NOT  BECOME  ACADEMICIANS 

WITH  Collins,  the  list  of  Academicians  elected  during  the 
Presidency  of  West  ends,  and  it  now  remains  to  notice  those 
artists  who,  during  the  same  period,  joined  the  ranks  of  the 
Academy  as  Associates,  but  never  reached  the  higher  honour. 
They  were  fifteen  in  number — nine  painters,  one  architect,  and 
five  engravers.  In  saying  that  they  never  reached  the  higher 
honour,  it  is  not  intended  to  imply  that  their  failure  to  do  so 
arose  from  want  of  sufficient  merit  in  their  works.  The  five 
engravers  were  never  eligible  for  the  full  honours  of  the  institu- 
tion ;  the  law  which  limited  engravers  to  the  Associateship  not 
having  been  altered  until  after  the  last  of  these  five  were  dead. 
Of  the  other  ten,  one  at  least,  Washington  Allston,  an  American, 
would  without  doubt  have  been  elected  an  Academician,  if  he 
had  not  quitted  England  for  his  native  country  in  1818,  the  year 
in  which  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  and  as  he  never  returned, 
and  ceased  contributing  to  the  annual  exhibitions,  he  may  fairly 
be  considered  to  have  voluntarily  forfeited  his  claims  to  the 
more  coveted  distinction. 

JOHN  DOWNMAN,  A. 

This  artist,  who  was  born  in  Devonshire  in  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  came  to  London  at  an  early  age,  and  after 
studying  under  Benjamin  West  for  a  short  time  entered  in  1769 
the  Academy  schools.  He  chiefly  maintained  himself  by  paint- 


JOHN  DOWNMAN  295 

ing  portraits  and  miniatures,  in  which  branch  of  the  profession 
he  displayed  considerable  skill.  But  his  contributions  to  the 
exhibitions  also  included  fancy  subjects  of  various  character, 
such  as  "  The  Death  of  Lucretia,"  "  Fair  Rosamund,"  and  others  ; 
these,  however,  found  few  purchasers  in  his  lifetime,  the  main  bulk 
of  them  remaining  unsold  at  his  death.  In  1795  he  was  elected  an 
Associate  and  subsequently  practised  his  profession  as  a  portrait 
painter  in  various  parts  of  England.  A  great  many  portraits 
by  him  are  to  be  found  in  country  houses ;  they  are  chiefly  chalk 
and  pencil  drawings.  He  died  at  Wrexham  in  1824. 

ANKER  SMITH,  A.E. 

Anker  Smith  was  one  of  the  clever  line  engravers  to  whom 
we  owe  the  beautiful  little  illustrations  which  adorn  the  books 
published  during  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  and  the 
commencing  ones  of  the  nineteenth  centuries.  He  was  born  in 
Cheapside  in  1759,  and  educated  at  Merchant  Taylor's  School. 
On  the  recommendation  of  James  Heath,  Smith,  when  quite 
young,  quitted  an  attorney's  office  and  took  lessons  in  line 
engraving ;  after  which,  for  several  years,  he  worked  for  Heath, 
many  of  the  plates  which  bear  Heath's  name  being  in  reality 
the  work  of  his  assistant.  Anker  Smith  is  at  his  best  in  his 
plates  for  Bell's  British  Poets,  the  British  TJieatre,  Smirke's 
Don  Quixote,  and  for  Boydell's  Shakespeare  Gallery. 
These  works  were  executed  between  1787  and  1797,  and 
obtained  for  him  his  election  in  the  last-named  year  as  an 
Associate-Engraver.  His  larger  works  after  Titian,  Carracci, 
and  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  though  carefully  executed,  have 
scarcely  the  delicacy  that  characterises  his  book-illustrations. 
His  death  took  place  in  1819. 

GEORGE  GARRARD,  A. 

Though,  apparently,  a  man  of  versatile  talents,  contributing 
both  paintings  and  sculptures  to  the  annual  exhibitions  for  many 


296  ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

years,  not  much  is  known  of  this  artist.  Born  in  1760,  he 
became  at  eighteen  the  pupil  of  Sawrey  Gilpin,  and  entered  the 
Academy  schools  in  1778.  Dogs,  horses,  and  other  animals 
formed  the  subjects  of  his  pictures ;  and  his  sculptures  were 
bas-reliefs,  busts,  and  monuments.  He  exhibited  specimens  of 
all  these  works  at  the  Academy  and  was  elected  an  Associate 
in  1800.  He  died  at  Brompton  in  1826. 

JAMES  FITTLER,  A.E. 

Fittler,  who  was  born  in  London  in  1758  was,  like  Heath 
and  Smith,  employed  greatly  on  book-illustration ;  he,  however, 
distinguished  himself  in  works  on  a  larger  scale,  and  is  perhaps 
best  known  for  his  fine  plates  from  Loutherbourg's  pictures  of 
"  The  Battle  of  the  Nile  "  and  "  Lord  Howe's  Victory."  Fittler's 
work  in  these  plates  suffers  only  when  compared  with  Woollett's 
matchless  "  Battle  of  La  Hogue."  Fittler  entered  the  Academy 
schools  in  1778,  and  was  elected  an  Associate- Engraver  in  1800. 
He  also  held  the  appointment  of  engraver  to  the  king.  He 
executed  little  or  no  work  after  1822,  and  died  in  1835. 

JOSEPH  GANDY,  A. 

Joseph  Gandy,  the  only  architect  added  to  the  list  of  the 
Associates  during  West's  Presidency,  was  born  in  1771.  He 
was  a  pupil  of  James  Wyatt,  and  in  1789  entered  the  Academy 
schools,  where  in  the  following  year  he  gained  the  gold  medal 
with  a  design  for  a  "  Triumphal  Arch."  He  subsequently 
studied  in  Rome,  and  on  his  return  to  England  was  much 
employed  by  Sir  John  Soane.  Elected  an  Associate  in  1803, 
he  seemed  to  have  a  successful  career  before  him,  but  though 
his  designs  and  drawings  display  great  beauty  and  fertility  of 
invention,  and  his  taste  was  appreciated  by  his  fellow-artists, 
unfortunately  Gandy,  who  was  odd  and  impracticable  in  dis- 
position, had  not  the  social  qualities  which  are  an  important 


JOHN  LANDSEER  297 

requisite  to  architectural  success.  As  a  consequence  of  this 
defect  very  few  of  his  designs  were  carried  into  execution,  and 
he  fell  into  straitened  circumstances,  being  compelled  to  ask 
for  pecuniary  assistance  from  the  Academy.  Rendered 
morose  by  poverty  and  disappointment,  Joseph  Gandy 
led  a  quiet  and  retired  life  in  Greek  Street,  Soho,  and  died 
in  1843. 

THEOPHILUS  CLARKE,  A. 

A  portrait  painter,  born  about  1776 — a  pupil  of  Opie  and 
student  in  1793  at  the  Academy — who  exhibited  at  times  a  few 
fancy  subjects,  such  as  "  The  Pensive  Girl,"  and  "  The  Lovers," 
from  Thomson's  Seasons.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1803, 
and  last  exhibited  in  1810.  The  date  of  his  death  is  unknown, 
but  as  he  had  long  ceased  exhibiting,  and  as  it  could  not  be 
ascertained  whether  he  was  alive  or  dead,  in  1832  his  name  was 
erased  from  the  list  of  Associates. 

JOHN  LANDSEER,  A.E. 

The  father  of  the  Landseer  family  was  born  at  Lincoln  in 
1769.  He  was  the  son  of  a  jeweller,  and  received  his  first 
instruction  in  the  art  of  engraving  from  a  clever  landscape 
painter,  named  John  Byrne.  The  vignettes  in  Bowyer's  History 
of  England,  and  Moore's  Views  in  Scotland,  published  in  1793, 
are  by  John  Landseer  ;  he  also  executed  a  series  of  clever 
engravings  of  animals  from  pictures  by  Rubens  and  Snyders. 
One  of  the  first  to  fight  the  battle  for  the  admission  of 
engravers  to  the  full  membership  of  the  Academy,  he  employed 
much  of  his  time  in  controversial  literature  on  the  subject ;  nor 
did  his  election  as  an  Associate-Engraver,  in  1806,  prevent  him 
from  continuing  to  urge  their  claims.  He  wrote  letters  to  the 
Council  on  the  subject,  and  was  allowed  to  attend  at  one  of 
their  meetings  and  argue  the  point  before  them  ;  but  all  the 


298  ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

answer  he  got  was  that  the  President  and  Council  "conceive 
themselves  not  empowered  to  act  upon  propositions  involving 
so  essential  an  alteration  in  the  structure  of  the  Establishment 
as  originally  instituted  by  His  Majesty."  Nor  was  the  cause, 
for  which  he  contended,  successful  till  1855,  three  years  after 
his  death.  At  one  time  he  started  a  periodical,  The  Probe, 
which,  however,  failed,  as  had  another  similar  attempt  by 
him  before.  He  lived  long  enough  to  witness  the  fame  of 
his  youngest  son  Edwin,  from  whose  "  Dogs  of  Mount  St 
Bernard"  he  made  one  of  his  best  engravings.  John  Land- 
seer,  in  his  old  age,  had  a  venerable  and  picturesque  appear- 
ance. He  died  in  1852,  in  his  ninetieth  year,  and  was  buried 
in  Highgate  Cemetery. 

ARCHER  JAMES  OLIVER,  A. 

Born  in  1774,  he  was  admitted  a  student  at  the  Royal 
Academy  in  1790  and  elected  an  Associate  in  1807.  Though  at 
one  time  a  fashionable  portrait  painter  of  considerable  merit, 
and  for  many  years  a  constant  exhibitor,  Oliver's  works  were 
scarcely  up  to  the  high  standard  of  excellence  which  prevailed 
at  the  time  in  portraiture.  He  became  in  his  old  age  embar- 
rassed in  circumstances,  and  for  a  short  time  was  glad  to  avail 
himself  of  the  remuneration  he  obtained  as  Curator  in  the  School 
of  Painting  at  the  Academy  to  which  post  he  was  appointed  in 
1835.  But  his  health  soon  failing,  he  was  compelled  to  rely, 
during  the  last  years  of  his  life,  on  donations  from  the  funds  of 
the  Academy.  He  died  in  Bond  Street  in  1842,  a  number  of 
his  unfinished  portraits  and  his  collection  of  engravings  becom- 
ing the  property  of  his  landlord  in  lieu  of  unpaid  rent. 

SAMUEL  DRUMMOND,  A. 

Born  in  London  in  1770,  Drummond  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
ran   off  to   sea,   and   remained    away   for   six   years.     Having 


WILLIAM  WESTALL  299 

developed  a  love  for  Art,  he  entered  in  1791  soon  after  his  return 
the  schools  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  in  the  same  year  made 
his  first  appearance  at  the  exhibition.  In  1808  he  was  elected 
an  Associate.  Though  Drummond's  principal  occupation  was 
portrait  painting,  he  occasionally  exhibited  subject-pictures, 
some  of  them  representing  events  in  naval  history,  such  as 
"  Admiral  Duncan  receiving  the  Sword  of  Admiral  de  Winter," 
in  Greenwich  Hospital.  In  the  National  Portrait  Gallery  are 
two  of  his  portraits :  one  of  Sir  Isambard  Brunei,  and  the  other 
a  miniature  of  Mrs  Fry.  Drummond,  like  Oliver,  seems  to  have 
experienced  difficulties  of  a  pecuniary  nature  in  his  later  years. 
He  succeeded  Oliver  as  Curator  of  the  Painting  School,  and 
frequently  received  assistance  from  the  funds  of  the  Academy. 
His  death  occurred  in  1844. 

GEORGE  ARNALD,  A. 

A  landscape  and  marine  painter  born  in  Berkshire  in  1763. 
He  began  life  as  a  domestic  servant,  but  his  mistress  noticing 
he  had  a  talent  for  Art  obtained  instruction  for  him.  He  became 
a  pupil  of  William  Pether,  and  from  1788  contributed  regularly 
to  the  exhibition,  being  elected  an  Associate  in  1810.  In  1825 
he  obtained  a  British  Institution  premium  of  £$oo  for  a  "Battle 
of  the  Nile,"  now  in  Greenwich  Hospital.  He  died  in  1841. 

WILLIAM  WESTALL,  A. 

This  artist  was  a  younger  brother  of  Richard  Westall,  R.A., 
and  was  born  at  Hertford  in  1781.  After  studying  under  his 
brother  he  went  in  1801,  when  only  nineteen,  as  draughtsman 
with  Captain  Flinders'  Australian  expedition.  He  was  eventu- 
ally wrecked  on  a  coral-reef  on  the  coast  of  Australia,  and  was 
picked  up  by  a  ship  bound  for  China,  where  he  remained  for 
some  time,  afterwards  visiting  India.  Returning  to  England 
for  a  short  time,  he  subsequently  visited  Madeira  and  the  West 


300  ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

India  Islands,  finally  settling  down  at  home  in  1808.  The 
pictures  and  drawings  which  he  made  during  his  travels  attracted 
considerable  attention,  from  their  novelty,  and  gained  him  his 
election  as  an  Associate  in  1812.  He  had  been  previously 
elected  a  member  of  the  Water-Colour  Society.  After  his 
election  his  paintings  showed  considerable  deterioration  in 
quality,  and  he  took  to  drawing  for  engravers  and  to  engraving 
in  aquatint  views  of  English  scenery.  He  died  in  1850,  from 
the  effects  of  an  accident. 

GEORGE  FRANCIS  JOSEPH,  A. 

This  artist  was  a  successful  and  fashionable  portrait  painter. 
Born  in  1764,  he  entered  the  schools  of  the  Academy  in  1784, 
and  began  exhibiting  in  1788.  Four  years  later  he  obtained 
the  gold  medal  for  his  picture  "  A  Scene  from  Coriolanus,"  a 
success  which  encouraged  him  to  select  subjects  of  high  art  for 
his  pictures.  In  1812  he  was  awarded  a  premium  of  one  hundred 
guineas  by  the  British  Institution,  for  his  picture  of  "  The 
Procession  to  Mount  Calvary,"  and  in  the  following  year  was 
elected  an  Associate.  After  his  election  he  abandoned  the 
ambitious  line  of  art  which  had  brought  him  into  notice,  for  the 
more  lucrative  one  of  portrait  painting.  There  is  a  portrait 
of  Mr  Spencer  Percival  by  him  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 
He  died  in  1 846. 

WILLIAM  WARD,  A.E. 

William  Ward,  the  eminent  mezzotint  engraver  was  the 
elder  brother  of  James  Ward,  R.A.,  the  animal  painter,  and  was 
born  in  1766.  He  was  apprenticed  to  J.  R.  Smith,  and  after- 
wards became  his  assistant.  Some  of  his  best-known  works  are 
the  plates  from  Morland,  who  married  his  sister.  He  also 
engraved  several  portraits  by  Reynolds,  Jackson,  and  others. 
He  was  elected  an  Associate-Engraver  in  1814,  and  also  held 


WASHINGTON  ALLSTON  301 

the  appointment  of  mezzotint  engraver  to  the  Prince  Regent 
and  the  Duke  of  York.  His  death  took  place  suddenly,  of  a  fit 
of  apoplexy,  at  his  residence  in  1826.  Ward's  plates  are  still 
greatly  admired  by  collectors,  and  generally  realise  high  prices. 

WASHINGTON  ALLSTON,  A. 

This  distinguished  artist  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  U.S.A., 
in  1 779.  Both  his  parents  were  of  good  families,  and  from  them 
he  inherited  a  considerable  patrimony.  After  completing  his 
university  career  at  Harvard  College,  where  he  graduated  with 
honours,  he  came,  in  1801,  to  England,  and  at  once  entered  the 
Royal  Academy  schools.  He  went  to  Paris  in  1804,  and  after- 
wards to  Rome,  returning  to  America  in  1809.  Whilst  there 
he  married,  and  again  came  to  England  in  1811,  remaining  here 
for  seven  years,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  visit  to  Paris  with 
his  friends,  Newton  and  C.  R.  Leslie,  in  1817.  During  his  stay 
in  England  he  produced  several  remarkable  works.  One  of 
them — "  The  Dead  Man  raised  by  touching  Elisha's  Bones " — 
gained  the  two  hundred  guineas  premium  awarded  by  the 
British  Institution,  and  is  now  in  the  Academy  of  Pennsylvania. 
This  picture  is  characterised  by  great  imaginative  qualities  and  a 
refined  sense  of  colour,  as  is  also  his  "Jacob's  Dream,"  which 
he  sent  from  Boston  to  the  Academy  Exhibition  in  1819;  the 
angels  being  composed  and  delineated  with  the  utmost  grace 
and  refinement.  Allston  also  painted  an  admirable  portrait  of 
Coleridge — now  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery — with  whom 
he  was  very  intimate ;  Coleridge  being  much  attracted  by 
Allston's  high  culture,  and  by  the  poetic  imagination  which 
imbued  his  works  and  conversation. 

Unfortunately,  on  the  very  eve  of  his  election  to  the 
Associateship  of  the  Academy,  in  1818,  and  in  despite  of  the 
earnest  protestations  of  his  numerous  friends  in  England, 
Allston,  under  a  fit  of  home-sickness,  suddenly  decided  to  return 
to  America,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1843.  He 


302  ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  WEST 

produced  one  or  two  pictures  after  his  return,  but,  though  they 
were  of  large  size  and  ambitious  aim,  they  scarcely  sustained 
the  reputation  of  his  earlier  works :  they  lingered  too  long  in 
the  studio,  and  suffered  greatly  from  repeated  alterations  and 
experiments.  He  left  at  his  death  a  large  unfinished  work, 
"  Belshazzar's  Feast,"  which  is  in  the  Boston  Museum,  where 
there  is  also  a  portrait  by  him  of  Benjamin  West.  Allston  was 
a  man  of  extreme  amiability  of  character,  and  greatly  beloved 
by  his  numerous  friends.  He  wrote  at  different  times  a  volume 
of  poems,  a  romance,  and  sundry  essays  and  short  pieces. 
His  Life  and  Letters,  by  J.  B.  Flagg,  was  published  in  a  large 
volume,  with  portraits  and  illustrations,  in  1893. 

WILLIAM  BROMLEY,  A.E. 

William  Bromley  was  born  at  Carisbrooke,  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  in  1769,  and  was  early  apprenticed  to  an  engraver 
named  Wooding.  His  skill  soon  attracted  the  notice  of  many 
eminent  artists,  several  of  whose  works  he  engraved — e.g.% 
Lawrence's  portraits  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  of  the 
young  Napoleon ;  and  Stothard's  designs  for  the  History  of 
England.  He  also  executed  a  plate  after  Rubens'  picture, 
"  The  Woman  taken  in  Adultery."  He  was  elected  an 
Associate-Engraver  in  1819,  and  later  in  life  he  did  some 
useful  work  for  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum, 
engraving  "  The  Elgin  Marbles "  from  drawings  made  by 
Henry  Corbould.  He  died  in  1842. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE,  AND  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE 

THOUGH  the  son  of  an  innkeeper  at  Bristol,  extraordinary 
natural  endowments,  extreme  precocity,  and  untiring  assiduity 
marked  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  from  his  very  childhood  as  one 
destined  to  rise  to  great  eminence  in  his  profession ;  while  at 
the  same  time  the  versatility  of  his  accomplishments,  his  self- 
possession,  his  personal  appearance,  and  even  many  circumstances 
of  his  early  environment,  all  seemed  to  have  helped  to  fit  him 
for  the  important  position  which  he  was  to  hold  as  President  of 
the  Royal  Academy. 

On  his  mother's  side,  at  least,  Lawrence  came  of  a  good 
family  ;  she  was  a  Miss  Lucy  Read,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  W. 
Read,  vicar  of  Tenbury,  and  through  her  mother  connected 
with  the  Powis  family.  Thomas  Lawrence,  senior,  had  been  an 
excise  officer,  but  was,  at  the  time  of  Sir  Thomas'  birth  in  1769, 
landlord  of  "  The  White  Lion  "  in  Broad  Street,  Bristol.  In 
1772  he  removed  to  "The  Black  Bear,"  a  very  important  and 
much-frequented  hotel,  at  Devizes,  on  the  old  Bath  road.  From 
all  accounts  he  was  rather  a  pompous  and  officious  personage, 
dressed  in  velvet  and  laced  ruffles,  and  was  at  all  times  ready 
to  give  the  distinguished  travellers  who  stayed  at  his  hotel  the 
benefit  of  his  company  and  conversation.  In  fact,  very  much 
the  style  of  host  that  Mr  Marlow  and  Mr  Hastings  mistook  Mr 


304      SIR  THOS.  LAWRENCE  AND  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

Hardcastle  for.  He  never  tired  of  showing  off  the  wonderful 
accomplishments  of  his  precocious  son  ;  and  it  was  thus  that 
Master  Tommy  became,  even  before  he  was  seven  years  old, 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  appearance,  manners,  and  conversation 
of  that  aristocracy  amongst  which,  in  the  future,  he  was  destined 
to  move  and  take  his  place.  He  was  a  handsome  child,  with 
thoughtful  eyes  and  rich  dark  chestnut  curls  which  hung  forward 
and  enveloped  his  pretty  face  when  engaged  in  making  his 
drawings.  Of  his  extreme  precocity  we  have  many  evidences  ; 
perhaps  the  most  reliable,  and  certainly  the  most  quaint  and 
matter  of  fact  is  contained  in  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  of  the  Hon.  Davies  Barrington.  Writing  to  his  friend 
Gilbert  White,  he  thus  descants  on  the  boy's  attainments, 
very  much  as  though  describing  some  object  or  curiosity  of 
natural  history  : — "  As  I  have  mentioned  so  many  other  proofs 
of  early  genius  in  children,  I  here  cannot  pass  unnoticed  a 
Master  Lawrence,  son  of  an  innkeeper  at  Devizes,  in  Wilt- 
shire. This  boy  is  now  nearly  ten  years  and  a  half  old ;  but 
at  the  age  of  nine,  without  the  most  distant  instruction  from 
anyone,  he  was  capable  of  copying  historical  pictures  in  a 
masterly  style,  and  also  succeeded  amazingly  in  compositions 
of  his  own,  particularly  that  of  'Peter  denying  Christ.'  In 
about  seven  minutes  he  scarcely  ever  failed  of  drawing  a 
strong  likeness  of  any  person  present,  which  had  generally 
much  freedom  and  grace,  if  the  subject  permitted.  He  is 
also  an  excellent  reader  of  blank  verse,  and  will  immediately 
convince  any  one  that  he  both  understands  and  feels  the  strik- 
ing passages  of  Milton  and  Shakespeare." 

Master  Lawrence,  of  "  The  Black  Bear,"  was  as  much  famed 
for  his  pretty  recitals  from  Milton  and  Shakespeare  as  for  his 
little  crayon  portraits.  We  are  told  that  Garrick,  whilst  staying 
at  the  hotel  on  his  way  to  Bath,  delighted  much  in  the  juvenile 
performer.  The  proud  father  informs  Mr  Garrick  that  "  Tommy 
has  learnt  one  or  two  speeches  since  you  were  here  last,"  and 
Mr  and  Mrs  Garrick  retire,  after  their  dinner,  to  the  summer- 


si/"  J/itwifiA  Jaw  retire, :  /  M!._/7 .A/  /£/>// Jr//. 


/•\:  !•**:  •':*•.•"  "•  I    •  •*•"• .  / 


LAWRENCE'S  EARLY  SUCCESS  305 

house  in  order  to  hear  Master  Tommy  recite  something  out  of 
what  his  father  called  Milton's  "  Pandemonium." 

Of  ordinary  education  young  Lawrence  had  little  or  nothing, 
for  he  was  taken  from  the  only  school  he  ever  went  to  when  he 
was  but  eight  years  old.  He  was  by  no  means,  however,  a 
mere  home-bred  milk-sop,  for  besides  being  a  good  billiard 
player,  a  good  shot,  and  a  clever  actor,  he  was  very  athletic  and 
particularly  fond  of  boxing. 

In  1779  the  family  left  Devizes  and  removed  first  to  Oxford 
and  subsequently  to  Bath,  where  the  future  president,  besides 
receiving  lessons  in  his  art  from  William  Hoare,  R.A.,  had 
frequent  opportunities  of  studying  fine  examples  of  the  Old 
Masters  in  the  collections  of  different  noblemen  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. It  was  not  long  before  he  was  earning  a  consider- 
able competency  by  making  crayon  portraits  of  the  fashionable 
frequenters  of  that  famous  city.  His  method  was  to  paint  for 
half  an  hour  from  his  sitter,  and  then  to  work  up  the  portrait 
without  nature  for  another  half-hour.  It  probably  was  from 
this  rather  dangerous  method  of  procedure  in  early  life  that 
he  contracted  a  habit  of  flattering ;  which,  though  leading  no 
doubt  to  an  enormous  amount  of  patronage,  yet  in  the  eyes  of 
an  expert  connoisseur  detracted  somewhat  from  the  merits  of 
his  portraits.  Lawrence  would  execute  three  or  four  such  crayon 
portraits  in  a  week,  receiving  as  much  as  three  guineas  a  piece 
for  them.  At  Bath,  Lawrence  had  for  sitters  many  distinguished 
people.  There,  too,  he  first  saw  Mrs  Siddons  ;  she  appeared  at 
the  Bath  Theatre,  and  young  Lawrence  from  recollection  made 
a  pencil  drawing  of  her  as  "  Aspasia,"  in  The  Grecian  Daughter, 
in  the  act  of  stabbing  the  tyrant,  which  was  engraved  and  sold 
for  five  shillings  a  copy.  Lawrence  must  have  felt  pretty  well 
assured  of  his  power  even  at  this  period  of  his  life,  for  in  a 
letter  to  his  mother,  in  September  1786,  he  writes  :  "  Excepting 
Sir  Joshua,  for  the  painting  of  a  head,  I  would  risk  my  reputa- 
tion with  any  painter  in  London." 

In  1787  Lawrence  went  to  London  and  became  a  student 

U 


306      SIR  THOS.  LAWRENCE  AND  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

at  the  Royal  Academy.  On  his  introduction,  amongst  several 
other  young  artists  with  their  productions,  to  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
he  was  singled  out  for  notice :  "  Stop,  young  man  ;  I  must  have 
some  talk  with  you.  Well,  I  suppose  now,  you  think  this  is  very 
fine,  and  this  colouring  very  natural,  hey !  hey ! "  And  then, 
after  a  bit :  "  It  is  clear  you  have  been  looking  at  the  Old 
Masters ;  but  my  advice  to  you  is  to  study  nature ;  apply  your 
talents  to  nature."  It  is  easy  to  see  from  this  that  the  wise  old 
President  felt  in  the  young  man's  work  that  tendency  to  man- 
nerism which  was  ever  his  besetting  sin,  and  advised  the  severe 
study  of  nature  as  a  wholesome  corrective. 

Lawrence's  success  as  a  portrait  painter,  after  he  came  to 
London,  proved  quite  a  record  for  rapidity.  To  his  fellow- 
students  he  seemed,  with  his  handsome  features  and  curling 
locks  of  brown  hair,  as  a  young  Raphael  suddenly  dropped 
amongst  them.  The  fashionable  people  in  town  vied  with  one 
another  in  giving  him  commissions.  The  king  and  queen 
themselves  took  the  greatest  interest  in  his  works,  and  even 
urged  the  members  of  the  Academy  to  elect  the  young  man  an 
Associate  when  he  was  only  twenty-one  years  old.  Such  a 
proceeding,  however,  though  favoured  by  Reynolds  and  West, 
would  have  been  contrary  to  the  then  laws  of  the  Institution, 
which  did  not  allow  of  any  one  being  elected  under  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  and  was  successfully  resisted.  But  when  the 
attempt  was  renewed  in  the  following  year,  the  opposition  gave 
way,  and  on  loth  November  1791,  Lawrence  was  elected  an 
Associate,  the  first  of  five  chosen  at  the  same  time,  of  whom  the 
only  other  of  note  was  Stothard.  His  election  to  full  member- 
ship followed  on  loth  February  1794,  his  two  companions  on 
this  occasion  being  Stothard  and  Hoppner.  Thus,  before  he 
was  twenty-five  he  became  an  Academician,  an  instance  of  the 
early  attainment  of  the  honour  which  has  had  no  parallel. 

On  the  death  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  in  1792,  Lawrence  had 
been  elected  painter  to  the  Dilettanti  Society,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  king  appointed  him  to  succeed  the  late  President  as 


THE  WATERLOO  GALLERY  PORTRAITS        307 

Principal  Painter  in  Ordinary.  During  the  presidency  of  West, 
Lawrence  executed  most  of  his  finest  works,  and  in  the  exhibi- 
tions at  Somerset  House,  his  portraits  were  looked  for  from  year 
to  year  with  the  greatest  interest. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  a  great  change 
came  over  the  fashions  in  costume  and  head-dress  ;  silk  brocades, 
full  skirts,  elaborate  muslin  caps  and  fichus,  frizzed,  powdered, 
and  puffed-out  hair,  gave  way  to  short  waists,  dainty,  close- 
fitting,  pseudo-classic  gowns,  and  hair  worn  in  plain  Grecian 
bands,  its  natural  gloss  increased  by  pomatum,  whilst  satin  and 
velvet  superseded  silk  and  muslin.  These  changes  were 
eminently  congenial  to  the  art  of  Lawrence.  No  painter 
equalled  him  in  the  skilful  dexterity  with  which  he  rendered  the 
glossy  lights  on  dark  hair,  the  shimmer  of  satin,  or  the  richness 
of  velvet.  His  knowledge  of  drawing  stood  him  in  good  stead 
in  rendering  the  increased  evidence  of  the  figure  which  the 
closely-fitting  garments  favoured.  The  prevailing  taste  for  that 
class  of  personal  beauty,  of  which  Mrs  Siddons  was  so  con- 
spicuous a  type,  exactly  coincided  with  Lawrence's  own  feelings  ; 
in  short,  never  was  a  painter  more  fortunate  as  regards  the 
tastes  and  fashions  of  the  period  in  which  he  lived. 

Untrammelled  by  the  cares  of  wife  or  family,  the  young 
artist  worked  with  surprising  and  indefatigable  industry.  The 
times  were  stirring  ones ;  portraits  of  military  and  naval  heroes 
fell  to  his  lot  by  scores.  In  1814,  he  received  a  commission 
from  the  Prince  Regent  to  paint  the  portraits  of  the  sovereigns 
and  the  famous  warriors  and  statesmen  who  had  been  the 
means  of  restoring  the  peace  of  Europe.  The  honour  of  knight- 
hood was  conferred  upon  him  in  the  following  year,  at  the 
instigation,  it  is  believed,  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  one  of  his 
illustrious  sitters.  In  1818  he  proceeded  to  the  Congress  of  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  and  thence  to  Vienna,  painting  in  both  places  the 
portraits  of  the  allied  sovereigns  and  their  most  distinguished 
ministers  and  generals,  and  in  May  1819,  to  Rome,  where  he 
painted  his  well-known  portraits  of  Pius  VII.  and  of  Cardinal 


308      SIR  THOS.  LAWRENCE  AND  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

Gonsalvo.  Of  these  historic  portraits  the  greater  part  are 
now  in  the  Waterloo  Gallery  at  Windsor  Castle.  From  his 
journeyings  Lawrence  returned  laden  with  honours  and  gifts, 
having  been  elected  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  St  Luke, 
and  of  the  Academies  of  Florence,  Venice,  America,  Denmark, 
and  Austria,  as  well  as  receiving  the  Austrian  Legion  of 
Honour. 

There  could  possibly  be  no  other  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dential chair,  rendered  vacant  by  the  death  of  West  in  1820,  who 
would  have  had  the  least  chance  of  opposing  Lawrence  in  the 
election  for  that  high  office  ;  and  that  he  was  unanimously  elected 
on  the  2Oth  of  March,  the  day  after  the  funeral  of  the  venerable 
West,  filled  no  one  with  surprise,  unless  it  may  have  been  himself, 
for  he  was  on  his  journey  home  at  the  time  of  West's  death, 
and  only  arrived  in  London  the  very  day  of  his  election. 

Towards  the  end  of  1829  Lawrence's  health  became  impaired, 
he  seemed  wearied  and  pale,  as  though  from  overwork ;  there 
were  no  symptoms,  however,  of  any  actual  disease,  and  his 
doctors,  being  in  doubt  as  to  his  case,  decided  to  play  what  in 
those  days  was  the  fashionable  "  trump  card  "  of  blood-letting. 
Under  this  treatment  he  rapidly  became  worse,  and  finally  sank 
exhausted  on  the  ?th  of  January  1830.  A  post-mortem  resulted 
in  the  discovery  that,  though  there  was  some  slight  ossification 
of  the  heart,  the  real  cause  of  his  death  was  due  to  loss  of 
blood  by  leeches  and  lancet. 

Lawrence  seems  to  have  had  some  premonition  of  his 
coming  end,  for  at  the  Artists'  Fund  Dinner  in  1829,  in  replying 
to  the  toast  of  his  health,  he  said  :  "  I  am  now  advanced  in  life, 
and  the  time  of  decay  is  coming  ;  but  come  when  it  will,  I  hope 
to  have  the  good  sense  not  to  prolong  the  contest  for  fame  with 
younger,  and  perhaps  abler  men.  No  self-love  shall  prevent  me 
from  retiring,  and  that  cheerfully,  to  privacy ;  and  I  consider  I 
shall  do  but  an  act  of  justice  to  others  as  well  as  mercy  to 
myself." 

He  was   buried   in   St    Paul's    Cathedral    on    the   2Oth   of 


LAWRENCE'S  METHOD  OF  WORK  309 

January,  the  pall-bearers  at  his  funeral  being  the  Earls  of 
Aberdeen,  Gower,  and  Clanwilliam,  Lord  Dover,  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  Sir  George  Murray,  Mr  John  Wilson  Croker,  and  Mr 
Hart  Davis.  The  exhibition  of  the  British  Institution  in  the 
same  year  consisted  chiefly  of  Lawrence's  works,  ninety-one  of 
his  best  pictures  being  collected. 

A  complete  list  of  Lawrence's  portraits  would  be  a  very  long 
one.  He  exhibited  311  at  the  Academy,  64  more  than  Sir 
Joshua.  Amongst  the  best  of  his  productions  may  be  men- 
tioned the  very  fine  full-length  portrait  of  his  predecessor, 
Benjamin  West,  in  the  National  Gallery;  for  lifelike  truthful- 
ness, dignity  of  expression,  and  exquisite  painting,  than  this 
nothing  could  be  finer.  Another  very  beautiful  work  is  the 
portrait  group  of  the  Countess  Gower  (afterwards  Duchess 
of  Sutherland)  and  her  daughter  Elizabeth.  With  children 
Lawrence  was  generally  very  successful,  his  best  picture  of  this 
kind  being  probably  "The  Children  of  Charles  B.  Calmady," 
no  longer,  unfortunately,  in  this  country,  of  which  he  himself 
said  that  it  was  "  one  of  the  few  I  should  wish  hereafter  to  be 
known  by."  The  one,  however,  by  which  he  is  perhaps  best 
known  is  the  portrait  of  "  Master  Lambton,"  belonging  to  the 
Earl  of  Durham ;  though  rather  artificial  in  sentiment,  it  is 
undoubtedly  a  wonderfully  fine  work.  Many  other  portraits 
might  be  mentioned,  some  of  which  were  seen  at  the  Winter 
Exhibition  of  the  Royal  Academy  in  1904,  which  are  excellent 
specimens  of  Lawrence's  skill  in  the  portrayal  of  feminine 
charm  and  beauty  and  youthful  grace.  His  fancy  subject 
pictures,  which  were  neither  numerous  nor  important,  are  well 
represented  by  his  diploma  work — "The  Gipsy  Girl."  The 
Royal  Academy  has  a  very  fine  portrait  of  him  by  himself. 
It  also  possesses  his  "Sitter's  Chair,"  bequeathed  to  it  by 
the  Rev.  J.  R.  Bloxam,  D.D.,  whose  father  married  Lawrence's 
sister  Anne. 

In  painting  a  face  Lawrence  delighted  in  what  are  termed 
"  high  lights  "  ;  these  sparkling  accentuations  of  the  eyes,  lips,  or 


310      SIR  THOS.  LAWRENCE  AND  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

nose,  he  rendered  with  surprising  dexterity  and  accuracy.  He 
revelled  in  the  deep,  rich  brown  shadows  which  Reynolds  first 
introduced  to  the  art  of  portraiture  in  England,  though  at  times 
he  was  apt  to  exaggerate  their  warmth  by  too  free  an  introduc- 
tion of  red,  He  is  seen  at  his  worst  when  he  had  to  portray  any 
extremely  celebrated  or  exalted  personages,  on  which  occasions 
he  seems  to  have  felt  bound  to  give  his  work  the  full  benefit  of 
his  somewhat  theatrical  ideas  of  poetry  and  sentiment.  For 
examples  of  this  sort  we  may  mention  his  portrait  of  "The 
Duke  of  Wellington,"  wrapt  in  his  marshal's  cloak,  hugging  his 
telescope,  bareheaded,  alone,  in  a  thunderstorm ;  or  that  of 
"John  Kemble  as  Hamlet"  ;  or  the  still  worse  likeness  of  "  His 
Satanic  Majesty,"  with  outstretched  arms  and  legs,  calling  up 
his  infernal  hosts,  which  Pasquin  severely  satirised,  while 
Fuseli  complained  that  "  Lawrence  had  stolen  his  devil  from 
him." 

It  was  to  Lawrence  that  an  increase  in  the  width  of  frames, 
at  the  annual  exhibitions,  was  due  ;  a  rather  broad,  richly  decor- 
ated style  of  frame  still  bears  his  name.  Hitherto  frames  had 
been  narrow  and  unpretentious,  though  pretty  and  decorative  in 
design ;  the  example  of  the  President,  it  is  needless  to  say,  soon 
spread,  a  matter  deeply  to  be  deplored. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  Lawrence  was  unanimously 
elected  President  in  succession  to  West.  It  was  a  choice  that 
everybody  approved  of;  even  the  grumbling  fault-finder  Fuseli 
saying,  "If  they  must  have  a  face  painter  to  reign  over  them 
let  them  take  Lawrence."  His  whole  career  had  marked  him 
out  for  the  post.  Shee,  who  subsequently  attained  the  same 
dignity,  says  in  a  letter  that  he  voted  for  Lawrence,  and  that  he 
11  never  gave  a  vote  with  a  more  sincere  conviction  of  its  justice 
and  propriety,  both  as  to  the  Academy  and  the  Art."  The 
choice  was  at  once  approved  by  George  IV.,  who  had  succeeded 
to  the  throne  on  the  death  of  his  father  in  the  early  part  of  the 
same  year,  and  who  continued  to  take  the  same  interest  in  the 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  NATIONAL  GALLERY      311 

Academy  he  had  already  shown  when  Prince  Regent.  In  proof 
of  this,  and  of 'the  favour  with  which  he  regarded  the  election  of 
Lawrence,  he  presented  the  Academy  with  a  very  massive  gold 
medal  and  chain  to  be  worn  by  its  Presidents.  The  medal  bears 
the  inscription,  "  From  His  Majesty  George  the  Fourth  to  the 
President  of  the  Royal  Academy." 

The  good  fortune  of  Lawrence  seems  to  have  continued 
during  his  Presidency,  for  the  ten  years  of  his  office  were  years 
of  peace  and  quiet  in  academic  matters,  a  result  which  may,  no 
doubt,  in  some  degree,  be  set  down  to  his  skilful  tact  and 
polished  manners.  There  were  no  storms  within  and  no  assaults 
from  without.  But  as  regards  the  general  interests  of  Art  in  this 
country  the  period  was  an  important  one,  for  it  was  marked  by 
what  may  be  called  the  first  Government  recognition  of  the 
necessity  of  encouraging  the  fine  arts.  West  had  often  urged 
the  desirability  of  forming  a  national  collection  of  pictures,  and 
had  applied  in  turn,  without  avail,  to  Pitt,  Fox,  and  Percival  for 
support.  Lawrence  followed  with  even  more  insistence  in  the 
same  strain,  and  with  more  success,  for  in  1824  the  Earl  of 
Liverpool,  who  was  then  Prime  Minister,  obtained  the  assent  of 
Parliament  to  the  purchase,  for  £57,000,  of  the  Angerstein 
collection  of  thirty-eight  pictures ;  and  so  was  founded  the 
National  Gallery. 

Other  artistic  matters  of  importance  in  which  Lawrence  took 
great  interest,  were  the  founding,  in  1823,  of  the  Royal  Hiber- 
nian Academy,  to  the  first  exhibition  of  which,  in  1826,  he  sent 
some  of  his  pictures,  and  the  effort  to  establish  in  the  same  year 
the  Royal  Scottish  Academy,  an  effort,  however,  which  was  not 
crowned  with  success  until  1838.  He  was  also  a  great  patron 
and  supporter  of  the  two  great  charitable  societies  for  the  relief 
of  distressed  artists  and  their  families,  the  Artists'  Benevolent 
Fund,  founded  in  1810,  and  to  which  a  Royal  charter  was 
granted  in  1827,  and  the  Artists'  General  Benevolent  Institution, 
first  started  in  1814,  but  which  was  not  incorporated  till  1842. 
Lawrence  himself  was  ever  ready  to  give  pecuniary  assistance 


312      SIR  THOS.  LAWRENCE  AND  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

to  struggling  artists ;  indeed,  his  benevolence  was  large  and 
unstinted,  and  was  one  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  embar- 
rassment in  money  matters  from  which  he  constantly  suffered. 
Another  cause  was  his  taste  for  collecting  drawings  and  works 
by  Old  Masters,  on  which  he  is  estimated  to  have  spent  ,£60,000. 
The  refusal  of  this  collection  by  the  Government  after  his  death 
was  followed  by  an  attempt  to  get  up  a  subscription  to  purchase 
it  for  the  nation,  towards  which  the  Academy  voted  ^1000,  and 
Sir  John  Soane  a  like  sum ;  but  it  failed,  and  the  works  were 
sold  by  auction.  A  collection  of  architectural  casts  made  by 
Lawrence  was  purchased  by  the  Academy  for  £250,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  British  Museum  for  the  use  of  architectural 
students,  but  after  keeping  them  for  some  years  the  Trustees 
returned  them  to  the  Academy,  where  they  now  are  on  the 
walls  of  the  architectural  school. 

No  changes  of  any  importance  occurred  in  the  Academy 
during  Lawrence's  Presidency.  The  .  exhibitions  remained  at 
much  the  same  level,  both  as  regards  the  number  of  works 
exhibited  and  the  receipts.  The  schools  attracted  the  average 
number  of  students.  The  practice  of  sending  travelling  students 
abroad,  discontinued  since  1795,  owing  to  the  war,  had  been 
resumed  in  1818,  when  Lewis  Vulliamy,  an  architect,  was 
awarded  this  prize,  and  in  1821  a  similar  distinction  was 
conferred  on  Joseph  Severn,  who  had  gained  the  Painting 
Gold  Medal  in  1819. 

An  interesting  incident  in  the  Presidency  of  Lawrence  was 
the  appointment  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  as  Honorary  Antiquary. 
On  his  first  appearance  in  that  capacity  at  the  Annual  Dinner 
in  1828,  Lawrence  proposed  his  health,  quoting  as  he  did  so  the 
lines : — 


"  It  he  had  been  forgotten 
It  had  been  as  a  gap  in  our  great  feast 
And  all  things  unbecoming." 

The   mention    of   the    Annual    Dinner    and    one    of    the 


THE  ANNUAL  DINNER  313 

Academy's  Honorary  Officers  furnishes  the  occasion  for 
giving  some  account  of  both  the  one  and  the  other. 

It  was  a  happy  thought  on  the  part  of  Reynolds  and  the 
early  founders  of  the  Academy  to  associate  with  themselves 
some  of  the  great  literary  men  of  the  day.  All  the  first 
four  appointments  were  made  direct  by  George  III.:  Joseph 
Barretti,  Secretary  for  Foreign  Correspondence  in  1769;  and 
in  the  following  year,  Samuel  Johnson,  Professor  of  Ancient 
Literature ;  Oliver  Goldsmith,  Professor  of  Ancient  History ; 
and  Richard  Dalton,  Antiquary.  The  chaplaincy  was  not 
instituted  till  1784,  when  the  Rev.  William  Peters,  R.A., 
who  had  acted  as  Chaplain  at  the  Annual  Dinner,  was 
appointed  to  the  office.  Many  distinguished  men,  as  will  be 
seen  from  a  reference  to  the  lists  in  Appendix  No.  IV.,  have 
since  honoured  the  Academy  by  filling  these  posts.  At  one 
time,  after  the  first  appointments,  they  appear  to  have  been 
elective,  though  there  seems  to  have  been  no  fixed  rule,  but 
for  many  years  they  have  been  made  on  the  nomination  of 
the  President,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Council  and  the 
General  Assembly,  and  the  sanction  of  the  sovereign. 

The  opening  of  the  first  exhibition  on  26th  April  1769,  was 
commemorated  by  a  dinner  given  at  the  St  Alban's  Tavern,  at 
which  Reynolds  presided,  and  several  lovers  and  patrons  of  Art 
were  present.  This,  however,  appears  to  have  been  a  private 
affair.  The  first  official  Dinner  was  held  at  the  new  rooms  at 
Somerset  House  on  St  George's  Day,  23rd  April  1771,  the  day 
preceding  the  opening  of  the  exhibition.  The  invitations  were 
limited  to  25,  but  this  number  soon  increased;  and  in  1809,  'm 
consequence  of  representations  that  were  made  that  the  original 
intention,  which  was  "  to  bring  together  at  the  opening  of  the 
exhibition  the  highest  orders  of  Society  and  the  most  distin- 
guished characters  of  the  age,"  had  been  departed  from,  and 
that  "  by  degrees  the  purity  of  selection  had  given  way  to  the 
influence  of  private  friendships  and  the  importunity  of  acquaint- 
ances," the  rooms  in  consequence  being  "  most  inconveniently 


314      SIR  THOS.  LAWRENCE  AND  HIS  PRESIDENCY 

crowded,  and  the  dignity  of  the  Feast  impaired,"  the  number 
of  invitations  was  limited  to  120,  exclusive  of  the  members  of 
the  Academy.  It  was  also  further  enacted  that  they  should 
only  be  extended  to  "persons  in  elevated  situations,  of  high 
rank,  distinguished  talent,  or  known  patrons  of  the  arts,"  and 
that  each  person  proposed  should  be  balloted  for  by  the 
members  of  the  Council  present,  two  black  balls  to  exclude. 
These  regulations  still  exist,  except  that  the  number  of  guests 
now  reaches  200.  The  roll  of  invited  guests  has  been  kept 
from  the  beginning,  and  constitutes  a  very  interesting  record. 
Of  the  speeches  there  is  no  regular  mention  till  1852,  as  up  to 
that  time  the  gathering  had  been  considered  a  private  one,  but 
the  presence  of  the  Prince  Consort  in  1851,  and  the  speeches 
then  made,  especially  that  of  the  prince,  attracted  much  atten- 
tion, and  the  custom  was  begun,  which  has  been  continued  to 
the  present  day,  of  inviting  the  Times  newspaper  as  representa- 
tive of  the  press. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS,  AND  ASSOCIATES  WHO  DID  NOT 
BECOME  ACADEMICIANS,  ELECTED  DURING  THE  PRESI- 
DENCY OF  SIR  THOMAS  LAWRENCE 

DURING  the  ten  years'  Presidency  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence 
eleven  Academicians  were  elected,  and  five  Associates  who 
never  reached  the  higher  rank.  Of  the  Academicians  eight 
were  painters,  one  a  sculptor,  and  two  architects.  Three  of  the 
eight  painters  are  still  names  to  conjure  with — Leslie,  Etty,  and 
Constable,  the  last-named  especially  so,  though,  perhaps,  his 
fame  now  is  as  much  above  his  deserts  as  in  his  lifetime  it  was 
below  them.  The  sculptor  and  the  architects  met  all  the 
requirements  of  an  age  which  was  not  too  exacting  in  art 
matters.  Of  these  eleven  Academicians  and  five  Associates 
we  will  now  proceed  to  give  some  account. 

EDWARD  HODGES  BAILY,  R.A. 

Edward  Hodges  Baily  was  born  at  Bristol  in  1788. 
His  father  was  a  carver  of  figureheads  for  ships,  and  quite 
at  the  top  of  his  profession  in  that  now  almost  obsolete 
branch  of  Art.  The  son  was  at  first  placed  in  a  merchant's 
counting-house,  but  his  natural  taste  for  Art  soon  induced  him 
to  abandon  this  uncongenial  occupation,  and  he  soon  achieved 
considerable  local  fame  as  a  modeller  of  portraits  in  wax.  An 
introduction  to  Flaxman  having  been  obtained  for  him,  he  went 

815 


316     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

to  London,  where,  as  assistant  to  that  sculptor  and  as  a  student 
at  the  Royal  Academy,  he  made  very  rapid  progress  in  his  art. 
Entering  the  school  in  1809,  he  gained  a  silver  medal  in  the 
same  year,  and  the  gold  medal  for  sculpture  in  1811.  In  1817, 
at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five,  he  was  elected  an  Associate  of 
the  Royal  Academy,  and  in  the  following  year  produced  his 
celebrated  "  Eve  at  the  Fountain,"  a  figure  which  obtained 
great  popularity,  combining  as  it  did  the  simplicity  of  Flaxman 
with  the  smooth  prettiness  of  Canova. 

Baily,  like  his  master,  Flaxman,  did  a  quantity  of  work  for 
the  silversmiths,  but  his  fame  chiefly  rests  on  his  monumental 
and  imaginative  works,  of  which  there  are  a  very  large  number. 
Among  the  chief  of  these  may  be  mentioned  the  colossal  statue 
of  Nelson  on  the  monument  in  Trafalgar  Square,  the  statues  of 
Charles  James  Fox  and  Lord  Mansfield  at  Westminster,  and  of 
Earl  St  Vincent,  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  and  others  in  St  Paul's, 
"  Eve  listening  to  the  Voice,"  and  "  The  Graces  Seated."  He 
also  executed  the  bas-reliefs  on  the  Marble  Arch  which  then 
stood  in  front  of  Buckingham  Palace. 

Baily's  talents  soon  gained  him  a  wide  reputation,  and  in 
1821  he  was  elected  an  Academician  at  the  early  age  of  thirty- 
three  ;  but  though  for  many  years  he  was  in  the  front  rank  of 
his  profession  he  never  succeeded  in  attaining  affluence  ;  indeed, 
so  extravagant  and  careless  was  he  that  already,  in  1837,  he 
was  obliged  to  apply  to  the  Royal  Academy  for  assistance.  As 
work  failed  him  his  necessities  became  more  urgent,  and  in 
1858,  he  was  placed  on  the  pension  list,  besides  being  granted 
on  two  occasions  a  charitable  donation.  He  was  the  first  to 
avail  himself  of  the  law  passed  in  1862,  establishing  a  class  of 
Honorary  Retired  Academicians.  Baily  seems  occasionally  to 
have  been  a  somewhat  troublesome  member  of  the  Academy, 
especially  with  regard  to  the  placing  of  his  works  in  the 
exhibitions.  On  one  or  two  occasions  he  requested  to  be 
present  at  the  arrangement  of  the  sculpture,  though  not  a 
member  of  the  arrangement  committee ;  and  once  he  went  so 


RICHARD  COOK  317 

far  as  to  alter  the  position  of  his  works  and  then  to  complain  to 
the  Council  that  they  had  been  put  back  in  their  original  place, 
a  cool  proceeding  which  drew  down  upon  him  a  well-merited 
rebuke  from  that  body.  His  death  took  place  in  1867. 

RICHARD  COOK,  R.A. 

The  obstacles  which  riches  present  to  those  desirous  of 
entering  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  are  often  likewise  found  in 
the  paths  which  lead  to  the  Kingdom  of  Art.  Whether  it  was 
his  opulence  or  his  apathy  that  choked  the  talents  of  Richard 
Cook  we  are  unable  to  determine,  but  that  he  possessed  a 
correct  eye  and  considerable  taste,  some  beautiful  drawings 
which  he  made  from  Michael  Angelo's  frescos  in  the  Sistine 
Chapel  bear  witness.  Born  in  London  in  1784,  he  entered  the 
Academy  schools  in  1800,  and  began  exhibiting,  in  1808,  land- 
scapes of  a  poetic  class,  the  subjects  of  many  of  which  were 
taken  from  Scott's  poems.  He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1816, 
and  in  1817  exhibited  a  picture  entitled  "Ceres  Disconsolate  for 
the  Loss  of  Proserpine."  Classical  subjects  were  much  in  vogue 
at  the  time,  and  it  was  for  pictures  of  this  class  that  Cook 
obtained  the  full  honours  of  the  Academy  in  1822;  having 
attained  these  he  seems  to  have  had  no  further  ambition,  for 
from  thence  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  ceased  to  exhibit. 
Very  little  is  known  of  his  private  life,  save  that  he  was  rich 
and  hospitable.  He  died  in  1857. 

WILLIAM  DANIELL,  R.A. 

William  Daniell,  the  nephew  of  Thomas  Daniell,  the  Academi- 
cian, was  born  in  1769.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  with  his 
uncle  to  India,  assisting  him  materially  in  his  work,  Oriental 
Scenery >  which  was  published  in  1808  in  five  volumes.  In  this 
work  the  plates  engraved  by  young  Daniell  are  greatly  superior 
to  those  in  the  sixth  volume  which  are  the  work  of  James  Wales. 


318     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

On  his  return  he  began  exhibiting  Indian  views  at  the  Academy, 
and  entered  the  schools  in  1799.  Between  1801  and  1814, 
William  Daniell  published  A  Picturesque  Voyage  to  India, 
and  many  other  works,  and  in  the  last  named  year  he  com- 
menced a  work  on  his  own  country,  called  A  Voyage  Round 
Great  Britain,  two  or  three  months  each  summer  for  many 
years  being  spent  in  making  drawings  and  notes.  The  book 
was  completed  in  1825.  Meantime  he  had  been  elected  an 
Associate  in  1807  and  an  Academician  in  1822. 

Though  the  subjects  of  the  pictures  by  the  Daniells  were 
novel  and  interesting  at  the  time  they  were  executed,  they 
possessed  little  artistic  excellence,  and  the  election  of  the  uncle 
and  nephew  to  the  rank  of  full  membership  will  always  remain 
one  of  the  enigmas  of  the  early  years  of  the  Institution.  William 
Daniell  died  in  1837. 

RAMSAY  RICHARD  REINAGLE,  R.A., 

the  son  of  Philip  Reinagle,  R.A.,  was  a  painter  of  landscapes 
and  animals  of  considerable  ability.  Born  in  1775,  he  exhibited 
his  first  picture  at  the  Academy  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen, 
but  it  was  not  till  1814  that  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  the 
full  honours  following  in  1823. 

Though  all  his  life  he  had  been  regarded  as  a  man  of  integrity 
and  honour,  in  his  old  age,  probably  through  stress  of  poverty, 
he  was  tempted  to  commit  an  act  for  which  he  had  to  forfeit  his 
membership.  He  purchased  of  a  dealer  a  picture  by  an  artist 
named  Yarnold,  which  after  a  little  touching  up  he  exhibited  in 
1848  as  his  own.  The  attention  of  the  Academy  was  called  to 
the  fraud,  and  a  committee  of  seven  members  was  appointed  to 
investigate  the  matter.  Reinagle  refused  to  attend  their  meet- 
ings, and  for  a  long  time  persisted  in  denying  the  truth  of  the 
accusation.  The  evidence  in  proof  of  it  was,  however,  too 
strong,  and  the  committee  at  the  end  of  a  long  report  recom- 
mended that  Mr  Reinagle,  to  save  the  committee  the  necessity 


SIR  JEFFRY  WYATVILLE  319 

of  further  proceedings,  should  be  requested  to  voluntarily  resign 
his  diploma,  which  he  did.  He  was  not,  however,  deprived  of 
his  pension,  and  continued  to  receive  pecuniary  assistance  from 
the  Academy  till  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1862.  The 
present  of  plate  which,  in  accordance  with  custom  he  had  pre- 
sented on  his  election,  was  in  1850  ordered  to  be  sealed  up  and 
no  more  used. 

SIR  JEFFRY  WYATVILLE,  R.A. 

This  architect,  the  son  of  Joseph  Wyatt  and  nephew  of 
Samuel  Wyatt  and  James  Wyatt,  R.A.,  was  born  at  Burton-on- 
Trent  in  1766.  As  a  boy  he  was  anxious  to  go  to  sea,  and  had 
a  providential  escape  from  being  drowned  in  the  ill-fated  Royal 
George^  which  ship  he  was  to  have  joined,  but  arrived  at  Ports- 
mouth too  late.  He  eventually  entered  his  uncle  Samuel's 
office  as  architectural  pupil,  and  later  on  served  with  his  uncle 
James;  but  not  finding  much  employment  as  an  architect,  he 
formed  a  sort  of  partnership  with  a  builder  named  Armstrong, 
who  was  engaged  in  large  Government  and  other  contracts. 
This  led  to  his  being  employed  in  the  enlargement  and  altera- 
tion of  many  country  mansions,  so  that  he  gradually  acquired 
a  considerable  reputation,  and  was  elected  an  Associate  in 
1822,  and  an  Academician  two  years  later.  The  chief  work 
of  his  life,  however,  began  in  1824,  when  he  was  appointed 
architect  of  the  additions  and  improvements  intended  to  be 
made  at  Windsor  Castle.  The  first  stone  of  the  new  buildings 
was  laid  on  I2th  August  1824,  and  Wyatt,  in  honour  of  the 
occasion,  assumed  the  name  of  Wyatville  to  distinguish  him  from 
the  other  architects  of  the  name  of  Wyatt.  This  piece  of  vanity 
and  affectation  provoked  the  following  squib  : — 

"  Let  George,  whose  restlessness  leaves  nothing  quiet, 
Change  if  he  will  the  good  old  name  of  Wyatt ; 
But  let  us  hope  that  their  united  skill 
Will  not  make  Windsor  Castle— Wyatville." 


320    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

In  1828  he  was  knighted  and  given  apartments  in  the 
Winchester  Tower  in  the  Castle.  The  completion  of  the  works, 
which  cost  £700,000,  occupied  him  till  his  death ;  but  he  also, 
during  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  made  extensive  additions 
to  Chatsworth,  and  added  a  new  front  to  Sidney  Sussex  College, 
Cambridge.  He  died  in  1840,  and  is  buried  in  St  George's 
Chapel,  Windsor. 

GEORGE  JONES,  R.A., 

born  in  1786,  was  the  son  of  a  mezzotint  engraver.  He 
obtained  admission  to  the  schools  of  the  Academy  in  1801  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  and  two  years  later  exhibited  his  first  picture  ; 
but  his  artistic  studies  were  considerably  interrupted  by  his 
military  ardour,  for  when  the  Peninsula  War  broke  out  young 
Jones  joined  the  militia,  and  having,  with  his  company  volun- 
teered for  active  service,  formed,  in  1815,  part  of  the  army  of 
occupation  in  Paris.  On  resuming  his  artistic  profession,  Jones's 
pictures  were  chiefly,  as  was  to  be  expected,  of  a  military 
character.  Of  their  kind  they  were  by  no  means  without  merit, 
and  they  procured  for  him  his  election  as  an  Associate  in  1822, 
and  an  Academician  in  1824.  Among  his  best  known  works 
are  "  The  Battle  of  Waterloo,"  at  Chelsea  Hospital,  and  "  Nelson 
boarding  the  San  Josef  at  the  battle  of  Cape  St  Vincent,"  at 
Greenwich  Hospital. 

Jones  was  elected  Librarian  in  1834,  and  held  the  office  till 
his  appointment  as  Keeper  in  1840.  During  that  period  the 
removal  of  the  Academy  frcm  Somerset  House  to  Trafalgar 
Square  took  place,  and  the  rearrangement  of  the  books  and 
prints  was  carried  out  by  Jones  in  a  systematic  manner  not 
hitherto  attempted.  In  the  course  of  his  tenure  of  the  Keeper- 
ship,  from  1840  to  1850,  he  visited  many  foreign  schools  of  art,  with 
a  view  to  seeing  what  improvements  could  be  introduced  into 
the  system  of  teaching  in  the  Academy  schools,  and  it  was  at 
his  recommendation  that  the  draped  living  model  was  set  in  the 


WILLIAM  WILKINS  321 

Painting  School,  where  previously  only  copying  and  still  life 
painting  had  been  practised.  His  efforts  were  much  appreciated 
by  the  students,  who,  in  1845,  presented  him  with  a  handsome 
piece  of  plate.  For  the  last  five  years  of  his  life  (1845-50)  Sir 
Martin  Archer  Shee  was  prevented  by  illness  from  discharging  the 
duties  of  President,  and  Jones  acted  as  his  deputy,  and  received 
the  thanks  of  the  General  Assembly  for  the  urbanity  and  zeal 
with  which  he  had  performed  his  duties.  He  lived  many  years 
afterwards,  his  death  not  taking  place  till  1869,  but  took  very 
little  part  in  the  business  of  the  Academy.  To  the  end  of  his 
life  Jones  always  affected  a  rather  military  appearance  in  his 
dress,  and  prided  himself  on  a  certain  resemblance  he  bore  to 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  for  whom  he  was  said  to  have  been 
once  mistaken.  This  story  when  repeated  to  the  great  duke 
drew  from  him  the  remark  that  he  had  never  been  mistaken  for 
Mr  Jones. 

WILLIAM  WILKINS,  R.A. 

William  Wilkins,  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  classic  as 
opposed  to  the  revived  Gothic  style  of  architecture,  was  the  son 
of  a  successful  builder.  Born  at  Norwich  in  1778,  he  was 
educated  at  the  Free  Grammar  School  there,  and  afterwards 
went  in  1796  to  Caius  College,  Cambridge,  where  he  graduated 
Sixth  Wrangler  in  1800.  A  travelling  Fellowship  obtained  in  the 
following  year  enabled  him  to  visit  Italy  and  Greece,  the  result 
of  which  was  a  work  by  him  entitled  Antiquities  of  Magna 
Gratia,  published  in  1807. 

He  appeared  as  an  exhibitor  at  the  Academy  before  he 
left  Cambridge,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  done  any 
professional  work  till  after  his  return  from  abroad,  when  he 
was  appointed  architect  of  Downing  College.  In  this  building, 
and  in  another,  Haileybury  College,  designed  by  him  some 
years  later,  the  attempt  to  adapt  the  severity  of  Greek  archi- 
tecture to  the  requirements  and  usages  of  modern  life  cannot 
be  said  to  have  been  very  successful.  He  was  employed  on 

x 


322     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

several  other  buildings  .in  Cambridge,  and  in  1817  erected  the 
Nelson  monument  at  Yarmouth.  In  this  year,  too,  he  published 
his  second  edition  of  The  Civil  Architecture  of  Vitruvius. 

His  reputation  as  a  rising  architect  procured  his  election  as 
an  Associate  in  1823,  and  three  years  afterwards  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  Academician.  He  had  just  finished,  in 
connection  with  J.  P.  Gandy,  afterwards  Deering,  the  United 
University  Club  House  in  Suffolk  Street,  and  two  years  later 
saw  him  engaged  on  one  of  his  most  important  works,  the 
building  in  Gower  Street  for  the  newly  founded  University 
College.  This  was,  perhaps,  his  most  successful  work,  though 
he  only  completed  the  central  portion  of  his  design,  of  which 
the  dome  and  portico  with  the  fine  flight  of  steps  ascending  to 
it  were  greatly  admired.  In  his  next  important  building,  the 
National  Gallery,  Trafalgar  Square,  begun  in  1832,  Wilkins 
was  greatly  hampered  by  alterations  in  the  allotted  space  after 
he  had  made  his  designs,  and  by  various  conditions  imposed  by 
the  Government,  besides  being  obliged  to  use  for  his  portico  the 
columns  from  Carlton  House,  but  the  result  hardly  deserves  the 
severe  criticisms  which  have  been  passed  upon  it.  Another 
well-known  building  of  Wilkins  is  St  George's  Hospital.  In 

1836  he  was  an  unsuccessful  competitor  for  the  New  Houses  of 
Parliament,  and   was  foolish   enough   to   publish   a   pamphlet 
explaining  the  merits  of  his  own  design,  and  the  defects  of  those 
of  the  other  competitors,  and  condemning  the  decision  of  the 
Commissioners. 

He  was  elected  Professor  of  Architecture  at  the  Academy  in 

1837  in  succession  to  Sir  John  Soane,  but  died  in    1839   at 
Cambridge  without  delivering  any  lectures. 

CHARLES  ROBERT  LESLIE,  R.A. 

This  artist,  as  his  name  suggests,  was  of  Scotch  descent, 
his  grandfather  having  emigrated  in  1750  from  Scotland  to 
Cecil  County,  in  the  State  of  Maryland.  Both  his  father 


CHARLES  ROBERT  LESLIE  323 

and  his  mother,  Robert  Leslie  and  Lydia  Baker,  were  natives 
of  Maryland. 

Robert  Leslie  was  a  man  of  great  ingenuity  in  mechanics, 
who  pursued  the  business  of  clock  and  watchmaker  in  Phila- 
delphia. He  was  a  member  of  the  Philosophical  Society,  and 
was  known  and  respected  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  scientific 
men  in  America,  including  Benjamin  Franklin  and  La  Trobe, 
the  architect  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  In  1793  he  came 
over  on  business  to  England,  and  it  was  during,  his  stay  in 
London  that  his  eldest  son  Charles  was  born,  on  the  ipth  of 
October  1794,  at  Islington.  On  the  death  of  his  partner,  in 
Philadelphia,  Robert  Leslie  with  his  young  children  returned  to 
America,  sailing  from  Gravesend  on  the  i8th  September  1799, 
and  after  a  voyage  of  seven  months  and  twenty-six  days  reached 
Philadelphia  on  the  nth  May  1800.  The  protraction  of  this 
voyage  was  due  to  the  ship  The  Washington  having  been 
engaged  in  action  with  a  French  privateer  on  the  24th  of 
October,  and  though  the  privateer  was  beaten  off,  with  the  loss 
of  37  men  killed  and  58  wounded,  The  Washington  was  so 
disabled  in  her  rigging  that  the  captain  had  to  put  into  Lisbon 
to  refit.  They  did  not  leave  Lisbon  until  the  3ist  of  March, 
and  even  after  that  were  much  delayed  by  gales. 

The  painter's  father  died  shortly  after  his  return  to  Phila- 
delphia. His  widow  was  left  by  no  means  well  off,  but 
she  contrived,  by  keeping  a  boarding-house,  to  bring  up  her 
young  family  in  a  respectable  manner.  Charles  Robert  and  his 
brother  Thomas  were  educated  at  the  school  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  spent  their  summers  and  autumns  in  visits 
to  the  farms  of  their  maternal  uncles,  in  Chester  County. 

C.  R.  Leslie  had  from  his  boyhood  been  fond  of  drawing,  and 
when  old  enough  to  think  of  a  profession  desired  to  be  a  painter. 
There  were,  however,  no  means  available  for  carrying  out  this 
desire,  and  he  was  in  the  year  1808  bound  apprentice  to  Messrs 
Bradford  &  Inskeep,  Booksellers  and  Publishers  in  Philadelphia. 
Through  the  kindness  of  an  assistant  scene-painter,  Tom 


324    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

Reinagle  by  name,  Leslie  obtained  a  place  on  the  stage  of  the 
theatre  at  Philadelphia  upon  several  occasions  when  the  cele- 
brated George  Frederick  Cooke  was  performing.  The  impres- 
sion made  on  the  young  artist's  mind  was  so  strong  that  he  drew 
from  recollection  a  striking  portrait  of  the  great  actor,  which 
attracted  the  attention  of  several  gentlemen  of  Philadelphia.  A 
subscription  was  raised  by  their  help  and  Mr  Bradford's  to 
enable  Leslie  to  study  painting  two  years  in  Europe,  and  after 
some  few  lessons  from  Sully,  he  sailed  from  New  York  in  1811 
armed  with  letters  of  introduction  to  West,  Beechey,  Allston, 
and  other  artists  of  distinction. 

Though  a  little  homesick  during  the  first  few  months  in 
England,  the  widening  circle  of  his  new  acquaintances  and  the 
artistic  influence  of  his  new  surroundings  soon  took  effect  in  the 
rapid  development  of  his  powers.  After  some  preliminary 
instructions  he  was  admitted  a  student  at  the  Academy  in  1813, 
and  exhibited  in  the  same  year  his  first  picture,  "  Murder,"  with 
a  quotation  from  Macbeth;  followed  up  next  year  by  the 
"  Witch  of  Endor."  From  the  venerable  President,  West,  the 
young  artist  received  much  kind  help  and  encouragement,  and 
through  his  friend,  Allston,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Coleridge 
and  Charles  Lamb ;  whilst  at  the  theatres,  of  which  he  was 
always  fond,  he  saw  Mrs  Siddons,  the  Kembles,  Bannister,  and 
Edmund  Kean.  In  order  to  support  himself  he  painted  at  this 
time  numerous  small  portraits.  These  were  highly  finished,  and 
generally  exceedingly  good  likenesses.  Among  them  may  be 
specially  mentioned  those  of  himself,  of  Washington  Irving,  and 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

In  his  picture  of  "  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  going  to  Church," 
exhibited  in  1819,  Leslie  may  be  said  to  have  found  the  line  of 
art  which  he  afterwards  made  so  peculiarly  his  own,  and  on 
which  his  reputation  rests — viz.,  humorous  genre.  The  subjects 
taken  from  his  favourite  authors,  Addison,  Shakespeare,  Cer- 
vantes, Sterne,  Smollett,  and  Fielding,  were  always  happily 
selected,  and  rendered  with  an  appreciative  intelligence  in 


THE  SUBJECTS  OF  LESLIE'S  PICTURES          325 

which  he  has  never  been  equalled.  Some  of  the  best  known 
are  in  the  National  Collections.  Two  important  events  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Victoria  were  commemorated  by  him,  "  Queen 
Victoria  receiving  the  Sacrament  on  her  Coronation  in  West- 
minster Abbey,"  and  "  The  Christening  of  the  Princess  Royal," 
and  he  also  designed  a  scene  from  Comus  as  a  fresco  for  the 
Pavilion  at  Buckingham  Palace. 

His  success  soon  met  with  recognition  from  the  Academy, 
and  in  1821  he  was  elected  an  Associate  by  a  majority  of  one 
over  George  Clint,  his  promotion  to  Academicianship  following 
in  1826.  He  had  married  in  the  previous  year,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  cares  of  an  increasing  family,  and  the  prospect 
of  a  certain  income  with  much  leisure  induced  him,  in  1833, 
to  accept  the  appointment  of  drawing  master  at  the  West 
Point  Military  Academy,  which  had  been  procured  for  him 
by  his  brother  ;  but  the  work  proved  to  be  far  more  arduous 
than  he  had  been  led  to  expect,  the  climate  damp  and 
unhealthy,  and  the  cost  of  living  very  high,  while,  added  to 
these  drawbacks,  he  pined  daily  for  the  society  of  the  comrades 
and  the  art  world  that  he  had  parted  from,  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  in  the  following  April  he  resigned  his  appoint- 
ment and  returned  to  England,  in  which  country  he  made 
his  home  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

In  the  early  years  of  his  membership  Leslie  does  not 
appear  to  have  taken  any  active  part  in  the  business  of  the 
Academy,  but  he  subsequently  displayed  great  interest  in  its 
affairs,  and  was  the  author  of  many  proposals,  beginning  in 
1844  with  one  that  the  number  of  works  allowed  to  be  sent 
by  each  exhibitor  should  be  limited  to  six.  A  resolution  to 
this  effect  was  passed  by  the  Council  and  sanctioned  by  the 
General  Assembly,  but  was  subsequently,  on  the  motion  of 
J.  M.  W.  Turner  seconded  by  H.  W.  Pickersgill,  rescinded  by 
eleven  votes  to  seven,  and  no  change  made.  Many  efforts  in 
the  same  direction  have  been  made  since,  but  none  were  success- 
ful until  1904,  when  the  number  allowed  to  be  sent  by  members 


326     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

was  reduced  to  six,  and  by  non-members  to  three.  Other 
efforts  of  Leslie's  met  with  a  better  fate,  especially  the  proposal 
to  admit  engravers  to  the  Academicianship,  which,  brought 
forward  by  him  first  in  the  Council  in  May  1852,  was  finally 
carried  to  a  successful  issue  before  the  end  of  1853,  and  saw  its 
first  accomplishment  in  the  election  of  Samuel  Cousins  in  1855. 
Some  of  the  proposals  made  by  him,  though  negatived  at  the 
time,  have  since  been  carried  into  effect,  such  as  the  opening 
of  the  exhibition  in  the  evening,  and  the  abolition  of  the  laws 
requiring  that  candidates  for  the  Associateship  should  be  "at 
least  twenty-four  years  of  age,"  and  that  they  should  "  not  be 
members  of  any  other  society  of  artists  established  in  London." 
On  the  election  of  Sir  Charles  Eastlake  to  the  Presidency  in 
1850,  it  was  on  his  proposal  that  the  annual  allowance  of  ^"300 
which  had  been  voted  to  the  late  President,  Shee,  in  1845, 
was  continued  to  the  President  until  the  bequest  of  Sir  Francis 
Chantrey  should  come  into  operation. 

In  1847  Leslie  was  unanimously  elected  Professor  of  Paint- 
ing, an  office  which  he  retained  till  1852,  when  his  state  of 
health  obliged  him  to  resign.  The  substance  of  his  lectures 
was  published  in  1855  as  a  Handbook  to  Young  Painters.  His 
literary  skill  was  considerable,  and  is  pleasantly  displayed  in 
the  memoirs  of  his  friend,  John  Constable.  He  also  wrote  a 
Life  of  Reynolds  >  and  some  Autobiographical  Recollections,  both 
of  which  were  published  after  his  death  under  the  editorship 
of  Tom  Taylor.  In  the  Recollections  we  obtain  a  charming 
picture  of  the  coterie  of  distinguished  people,  among  whom 
the  artist's  modesty  and  amiability  rendered  him  ever  a  welcome 
favourite.  Coleridge,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Lord  and  Lady  Holland, 
Sidney  Smith,  Lord  Egremont,  and  in  later  years  Dickens, 
Thackeray,  and  the  Doyles  were,  amongst  others,  his  intimate 
friends ;  of  these  his  pen  affords  us  many  delightful  and  graphic 
reminiscences. 

The  death  of  this  amiable  and  accomplished  artist  took 
place  on  5th  May  1859,  the  day  following  the  opening  of  the 


HENRY  WILLIAM  PICKERSGILL  327 

Academy  Exhibition  which  contained  his  last  two  works, 
"  Jeannie  Deans  appealing  to  the  Queen,"  and  "  Hotspur  and 
Lady  Percy."  Thackeray  in  the  last  of  his  Roundabout  Papers 
paid  him  the  following  touching  tribute : — 

"  Not  many  days  since  I  went  to  visit  a  house  where,  in 
former  years,  I  had  received  many  a  friendly  welcome.  We 
went  into  the  owner's — an  artist's — studio.  Prints,  pictures, 
and  sketches  hung  on  the  walls  as  I  had  last  seen  and 
remembered  them.  The  implements  of  the  painter's  art  were 
there.  The  light  which  had  shone  upon  so  many,  many 
hours  of  patient  and  cheerful  toil,  poured  through  the  northern 
window  upon  print  and  bust,  lay  figure  and  sketch,  and  upon 
the  easel  before  which  the  good,  the  gentle,  the  beloved  Leslie 
laboured.  In  this  room  the  busy  brain  had  devised,  and  the 
skilful  hand  executed,  I  know  not  how  many  of  the  noble 
works  which  have  delighted  the  world  with  their  beauty  and 
charming  humour.  Here  the  poet  called  up  into  pictorial 
presence,  and  informed  with  life,  grace,  beauty,  infinite  friendly 
mirth,  and  wondrous  naturalness  of  expression,  the  people  of 
whom  his  dear  books  told  him  the  stories — his  Shakespeare, 
his  Cervantes,  his  Moliere,  his  Le  Sage." 

Leslie  left  three  sons  all  of  whom  became  distinguished 
in  their  respective  professions,  and  one  of  them,  the  youngest, 
followed  directly  in  his  father's  footsteps,  and  was  elected  a 
Royal  Academician  in  1876. 

HENRY  WILLIAM  PICKERSGILL,  R.A. 

Born  in  London  in  1782,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was 
adopted,  as  a  child,  by  a  Spitalfields  silk  weaver  named  Hall. 
On  the  failure  of  the  business  when  he  was  about  nineteen 
years  old  he  determined  to  cultivate  his  talent  as  a  draughts- 
man, and  became  a  pupil  of  George  Arnald,  A.,  subsequently 
entering  the  Academy  schools,  and  exhibiting  his  first  picture 
in  1806.  Like  most  young  artists  of  the  period  he  began  with 


328    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

classical  and  mythological  subjects,  but  it  was  not  long  before 
he  devoted  the  whole  of  his  time  to  that  more  lucrative  branch 
of  art,  portraiture.  In  this  he  was  very  successful,  and  most 
of  the  eminent  people  of  the  day  sat  to  him  ;  among  others, 
Wordsworth,  Jeremy  Bentham,  Hannah  More,  and  George 
Stephenson,  whose  portraits  by  him  are  in  the  National 
Portrait  Gallery.  He  was  also  employed  by  Sir  Robert  Peel 
to  paint  some  of  the  best  known  men  of  that  period.  But 
his  reputation  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  stood  the  test  of 
time,  and  his  portraits,  though  good  as  likenesses,  are  not  now 
thought  of  much  account  as  pictures. 

Pickersgill  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1822,  and  an 
Academician  in  1826.  In  1856  he  was  appointed  Librarian 
in  succession  to  Uwins,  and  received,  in  1863,  the  thanks  of 
the  Council  for  preparing  a  revised  Catalogue  of  the  Books. 
He  resigned  the  office  in  1864.  He  does  not  appear  to  have 
taken  much  share  in  the  general  business  of  the  Academy, 
but  he  was  a  great  stickler  for  members  discharging  the  duties 
of  membership  as  well  as  enjoying  its  privileges,  and  one  or 
two  resolutions  to  that  effect  are  recorded  in  the  Minutes  as 
proposed  by  him.  He  died  in  1875.  A  son  who  pre-deceased 
him  acquired  some  reputation  as  an  artist,  but  the  name  was 
continued  on  the  Academy  register  by  his  better-known  nephew, 
F.  R.  Pickersgill. 

WILLIAM  ETTY,  R.A. 

Sometimes  called  "  The  English  Titian,"  was  born  at  York 
on  loth  March  1787.  In  his  autobiography  he  says,  "Like 
Rembrandt  and  Constable,  my  father  also  was  a  miller."  At 
eleven  years  old  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  letterpress  printer 
named  Robert  Peck,  "  in  which  business,"  he  writes,  "  I  served 
seven  full  years  faithfully  and  truly,  and  worked  at  it  three 
weeks  as  journeyman  ;  but  I  had  such  a  busy  desire  to  be  a 
painter  that  the  last  years  of  my  servitude  dragged  on  most 
heavily.  I  counted  the  years,  days,  weeks,  and  hours,  till 


WILLIAM  ETTY  329 

liberty  should  break  my  chains  and  set  my   struggling   spirit 
free." 

The  first  step  towards  realising  these  aspirations  was  an 
invitation  to  London  in  1806  from  an  uncle,  William  Etty, 
whom  he  speaks  of  as  "  a  beautiful  draughtsman  in  pen  and 
ink."  This  uncle  saw  merit  in  the  boy's  sketches,  and  provided 
him  with  the  means  of  carrying  on  his  studies.  He  first  drew 
in  a  plaster  cast  shop  in  Cock  Lane,  Smithfield,  kept  by  an 
Italian,  named  Gianelli,  and  in  1807,  through  the  good  offices  of 
Opie  and  Fuseli,  obtained  admission  to  the  Academy  schools. 
A  year  later,  in  consideration  of  a  premium  of  one  hundred 
guineas  paid  by  his  uncle,  he  was  taken  for  a  year  by  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence,  as  a  pupil  into  his  studio  in  Greek  Street. 
It  was  a  long  time,  however,  before  he  met  with  any  success ; 
not  till  1811  was  his  first  picture,  "  Telemachus  rescuing 
Antiope,"  hung  at  the  Royal  Academy.  Nor  were  his  efforts  to 
obtain  medals  in  the  Academy  schools,  where  he  was  a  most 
constant  and  diligent  attendant,  better  rewarded.  His  last 
attempt  was  made  in  1818,  when  he  was  technically  not  qualified 
to  compete,  but  the  following  extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the 
Council  of  1 7th  November  1818,  shows  in  what  esteem  he  was 
held  : — "  The  Council  taking  into  consideration  the  distinguished 
merit  displayed  by  Mr  Etty  in  the  copy  from  Titian  he  has 
recently  made  in  the  Painting  School  of  the  Academy,  and 
considering  also  Mr  Etty's  general  good  conduct  and  assiduity 
as  a  Student,  request  the  President  will  take  occasion  on  the 
distribution  of  the  Premiums  to  express  to  that  gentleman  their 
high  approbation  of  his  work,  which  the  laws  of  the  Academy 
have  excluded  from  competition  on  the  present  occasion."  A 
copy  of  this  Resolution  was  sent  to  Etty  with  the  request  that 
he  would  "  leave  his  picture  in  the  Academy  for  the  inspection 
of  the  General  Assembly " ;  and  at  the  distribution  on  the 
loth  of  December,  the  President  publicly  expressed  to  Mr  Etty 
the  high  sense  which  the  Academy  entertained  both  of  his 
talents  and  of  his  good  conduct 


330     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

Etty's  devotion  to  the  schools  was  remarkable,  and  it  may 
truly  be  said  of  him,  that  from  the  time  he  entered  them  until 
a  year  or  two  before  his  death  he  never  left  them,  as,  even  after 
his  election  to  the  full  honours  of  the  Institution,  he  was  con- 
stant to  his  student's  easel  in  the  life  class.  When  it  was 
represented  to  him  by  some  of  his  brother  members,  that  it  was 
derogatory  for  him  as  an  Academician  to  continue  working 
amongst  the  students,  he  resented  any  interference  with  his 
practice,  and  even  threatened  to  resign,  rather  than  discontinue 
his  studies  in  the  school.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  this 
habit  of  working  night  after  night  in  the  heated  and  ill- 
ventilated  life  school  very  materially  shortened  his  life,  bringing 
on,  after  a  time,  the  disease  of  the  heart  of  which  he  died.  As 
a  visitor,  Etty  was  very  popular  with  the  students  of  the 
Academy,  and  his  vigorous  colour  and  dexterity  of  execution 
influenced  a  great  number  of  the  rising  generation  of  artists  of 
his  day,  amongst  others  who  undoubtedly  came  under  this 
influence  may  be  mentioned  Mr  J.  C.  Hook  and  Sir  John  Millais. 
Indirectly,  also  through  a  pupil  of  his,  Mr  Leigh,  who  after- 
wards kept  a  famous  school  for  young  artists  in  Newman 
Street,  the  influence  of  Etty's  brilliant  style  was  widely 
disseminated. 

The  first  picture  of  Etty's  that  attracted  attention  was  "  The 
Coral  Finders,"  exhibited  in  1820.  This  was  followed  the  next 
year  by  "  Cleopatra's  arrival  at  Cilicia."  The  success  these  met 
with  enabled  him  to  revisit  Italy,  where  he  had  spent  three 
months  in  1816,  and  the  year  and  a  half  he  now  stayed  were 
devoted  entirely  to  the  copying  of  the  works  of  the  Old  Masters, 
especially  those  of  the  Venetian  School.  He  had  a  fine  eye  for 
colour,  and  the  studies  by  his  hand  from  pictures  by  Titian, 
Paul  Veronese,  and  Tintoretto  are  amongst  the  most  beautiful 
and  artistic  that  have  ever  been  made  from  those  painters. 
Returning  to  England  early  in  1824,  he  exhibited  in  the  same 
year  "  Pandora  crowned  by  the  Seasons,"  which  was  purchased 
by  the  President,  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  and  secured  his  elec- 


SUBJECTS  OF  ETTY'S  PICTURES  331 

tion  as  an  Associate  in  1825.    The  Academicianship  followed  in 
1828. 

The  subjects  painted  by  Etty,  generally  of  a  classical  or 
allegorical  nature,  were  chosen,  possibly  not  so  much  from  a 
love  of  the  classics  per  se,  or  to  convey  any  moral  lesson  or  deep 
meaning,  as  to  afford  the  artist  an  opportunity  of  displaying  his 
brilliancy  of  colour  and  dexterity  in  rendering  the  nude  form. 
As  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  of  his  many  works  of  this  sort 
may  be  mentioned  that  in  the  National  Collection,  "  Youth  at  the 
prow  and  Pleasure  at  the  helm."  The  following  passage  in  the 
autobiography  already  mentioned  shows  which  works  he  him- 
self considered  to  be  his  greatest : — "  My  aim  in  all  my  great 
pictures  has  been  to  paint  some  great  moral  of  the  heart :  '  The 
Combat/  the  beauty  of  mercy ;  the  three  *  Judith '  pictures, 
patriotism  and  self-devotion  to  her  country,  her  people,  and  her 
God  ;  *  Benaiah,  David's  chief  captain,'  valour  ;  *  Ulysses  and  the 
Sirens,'  the  importance  of  resisting  sensual  delights,  or  an 
Homeric  paraphrase  of  the  *  Wages  of  Sin  is  Death.' "  Of 
these  the  first  five  are  in  the  National  Gallery,  Edinburgh,  and 
the  sixth  at  the  Royal  Institution,  Manchester.  A  man  of  great 
simplicity  and  purity  of  mind  and  conduct,  he  was  much  pained 
at  the  opinion  freely  expressed  by  some  that  his  works  were  of 
a  voluptuous  and  immoral  character ;  but  though  the  numerous 
renderings  of  the  female  nude  which  abound  in  his  pictures  are 
sometimes  marred  by  a  too  realistic  likeness  of  the  models  he 
painted  from,  they  are  never  prominent  in  suggestiveness  or 
artificial  in  sentiment. 

Etty  was  never  married,  though,  as  he  tells  us,  "  one  of  his 
prevailing  weaknesses  was  to  fall  in  love."  Probably  his 
extreme  bashfulness  prevented  him  from  ever  making  a 
declaration  of  his  passion.  His  niece  kept  house  for  him  at 
No.  14  Buckingham  Street,  Strand,  where  he  lived  from  1826  to 
1848.  In  the  latter  year,  owing  to  failing  health,  he  moved  to 
his  native  place,  York,  and  died  there  on  I3th  November 
1849. 


332     ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 


JOHN  CONSTABLE,  R.A. 

This  distinguished  landscape  painter,  the  second  son  of  a 
wealthy  Suffolk  miller,  was  born  on  the  nth  of  June  1776,  at  East 
Bergholt,  in  which  neighbourhood  his  father,  Golding  Constable, 
owned  the  two  water-mills  of  Flatford  and  Dedham,  besides 
two  wind-mills.  His  father  intended  educating  John  for  the 
Church,  and  sent  him  to  a  boarding-school  about  fifteen  miles 
from  Bergholt,  when  only  seven  years  old,  and  afterwards  to 
another  school  at  Lavenham.  At  this  place  Constable  received 
considerable  ill-treatment  from  the  usher,  and  apparently  learnt 
very  little ;  he  was  happier  at  the  Grammer  School  at  Dedham 
to  which  he  subsequently  went,  and  was  a  favourite  with  the 
master,  a  Dr  Grimwood.  He  was  then  about  sixteen  years  old 
and  had  already  developed  a  fondness  for  painting,  a  fondness 
which  was  fostered  by  a  close  alliance  he  formed  with  a  certain 
John  Dunthorne,  a  plumber  and  glazier  in  the  village,  who 
devoted  his  spare  time  to  painting  from  nature,  and  of  whom 
in  his  studies  Constable  became  the  constant  companion. 

Constable's  father  was  much  opposed  to  his  son's  choice  of 
a  profession,  and,  disappointed  at  finding  him  disinclined  to  the 
necessary  studies  to  fit  him  for  the  Church,  he  determined  to 
make  a  miller  of  him.  Accordingly  for  about  a  year  Constable 
worked  obediently  and  well  in  his  father's  mills,  and  having  a 
fresh  complexion  and  fine  eyes  became  known  in  the  neighbour- 
hood as  "the  handsome  miller."  The  time  thus  spent  was 
probably  by  no  means  wasted,  as  the  intimate  knowledge  of 
his  business  he  then  acquired  served  him  in  good  stead  in 
after  life,  the  intelligence  and  accuracy  of  rendering  which 
distinguishes  Constable's  mills  from  those  of  other  painters 
being  always  remarkable. 

An  introduction  to  Sir  George  Beaumont,  whose  mother, 
the  Dowager  Lady  Beaumont,  resided  at  Dedham,  took  place 
in  1795.  Sir  George,  much  pleased  with  the  young  artist's 


JOHN  CONSTABLE  333 

endeavours,  persuaded  his  father  to  send  him  to  London  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  what  might  be  his  chance  of 
success  as  a  painter.  Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Joseph  Farington,  R.A.,  who  was  much  struck  with  the  young 
artist's  studies,  and  predicted  a  brilliant  future  for  him  in  land- 
scape painting. 

During  the  next  two  or  three  years  Constable  was  allowed 
to  spend  much  of  his  time  in  London,  where  he  made  many 
artistic  acquaintances,  and  became  daily  more  firm  in  his 
resolution  to  adopt  the  profession  of  an  artist.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  the  beginning  of  the  year  1800  that  he  entirely 
abandoned  his  father's  counting-house,  and  was  admitted,  on 
4th  February,  a  student  of  the  Royal  Academy.  During  his 
studentship  he  received  much  encouragement  from  the 
President,  Benjamin  West,  who  was  at  all  times  ready  and 
willing  to  assist  young  artists.  He  first  exhibited  at  the 
Academy  in  1802,  the  picture  being  merely  described  in  the 
Catalogue  as  "  Landscape."  He  also  about  this  time  painted 
a  few  portraits  as  well  as  making  copies  and  studies  from 
Ruysdaei,  Claude,  and  others  of  the  Old  Masters.  Two 
"  Landscapes  "  and  two  "  Studies  from  Nature  "  were  exhibited 
in  1803,  and  though  occasionally  some  of  his  pictures  were 
rejected,  he  was  from  that  time  a  constant  contributor  to  the 
annual  exhibitions.  But  so  little  were  his  early  pictures 
appreciated,  that  it  was  not  until  1814  that  he  found  a 
purchaser  for  any  of  them,  two  being  sold  in  that  year,  a  small 
one  exhibited  at  the  British  Institution,  and  a  more  important 
one  at  the  Academy,  entitled  "  A  Lock." 

These  early  pictures  are  in  respect  of  tone,  colour,  and 
finish,  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  of  his  later  and  more 
celebrated  productions.  They  were  mostly  painted  direct  from 
the  scenes  they  represent,  and  their  simple,  natural  truthfulness 
is  beyond  all  praise,  though  it  is  very  probable  that  it  was 
this  latter  quality  which  made  them  unacceptable  at  a  time 
when  the  fashionable  taste  for  landscape  was  conventional 


334    ACADEMICIANS  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

and  artificial  in  the  extreme.  Almost  all  these  unsold  early 
works  remained  in  the  artist's  studio  until  his  death,  and  since 
then,  on  the  death  of  his  last  surviving  daughter,  they  passed 
into  the  National  Collections,  a  good  example  of  the  early 
manner  being  found  in  "  Boat-Building,"  which  was  exhibited 
in  1815  at  the  Royal  Academy. 

On  the  2nd  of  October  1816,  after  a  long  engagement  and 
considerable  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  lady's  relatives, 
Constable  married  a  Miss  Bicknell,  who  brought  him  valuable 
help  as  regards  his  monetary  affairs,  so  that,  in  spite  of  the 
want  of  patronage  for  his  art,  he  was  at  no  time  of  his  life 
badly  off  for  the  means  of  livelihood. 

In  1819  he  sent  to  the  Academy  the  largest  and  most 
important  work  he  had  yet  produced,  "  Scene  on  the  River 
Stour"  —  better  known  now  as  "The  White  Horse."  This 
picture  is  in  Constable's  very  finest  manner,  and  helped  to 
secure  his  election  as  an  Associate  the  same  year.  It  was 
purchased  from  the  artist  by  Archdeacon  Fisher  for  £100, 
and  after  passing  through  other  hands  was  sold  at  Christie's, 
in  1894,  for  £6510.  Archdeacon  Fisher,  in  1820,  purchased 
another  of  Constable's  finest  works  for  ;£ioo.  It  was  a  view  of 
Stratford  Mill  on  the  Stour,  with  a  group  of  children  fishing 
in  the  foreground,  and  was  sold  at  Christie's,  in  1895,  for  £8925. 

In  1821  Constable  exhibited  another  large  picture,  called 
in  the  Catalogue,  "  Landscape — Noon,"  but  subsequently  entitled 
"The  Hay  Wain,"  which  met  with  no  purchaser  at  the  time, 
and  was  eventually  bought,  together  with  two  other  works, 
for  .£250,  by  an  enterprising  Frenchman,  who  sent  them  to 
the  Paris  Salon,  where  they  were  much  admired,  and  were 
destined  to  exercise  a  very  considerable  influence  on  French 
landscape  art.  "The  Hay  Wain"  is  now  in  the  National 
Gallery. 

Among  the  most  important  of  Constable's  other  works 
which  now  appeared  in  quick  succession  year  after  year,  the 
following  may  be  mentioned :  "  Salisbury  Cathedral  from  the 


CONSTABLE'S  PICTURES  335 

Bishop's  Garden";  "The  Jumping  Horse";  "The  Cornfield," 
which,  after  the  artist's  death,  was  purchased  by  subscription 
from  his  family,  and  presented  to  the  National  Collection ; 
"  The  Marine  Parade  and  Chain  Pier,  Brighton,"  a  sample  of 
many  very  masterly  views  of  the  sea-shore  which  he  occasionally 
exhibited ;  "  Dedham  Vale,"  upright  in  shape ;  "  Hampstead 
Heath";  and  "Salisbury  Cathedral  from  the  Meadows,"  the 
engraved  picture  with  the  rainbow.  Besides  his  works  in 
oil-colour,  Constable  exhibited  many  beautiful  water-colour 
paintings  and  drawings  from  time  to  time. 

The  somewhat  tardy  promotion  of  this  great  artist  to  the 
full  honours  of  the  Royal  Academy  occurred  on  the  loth  of 
February  1829,  when  he  was  chosen  by  one  vote  over  Francis 
Danby.  That  he  had  not  been  elected  sooner  was  chiefly 
owing  to  the  low  estimation  in  which  landscape  painting  at 
that  time  was  held  by  very  many  of  the  members  of  the 
Institution,  Lawrence  himself  bluntly  intimating  to  Constable, 
after  his  election,  that  he  considered  him  fortunate  in  being 
chosen  an  Academician  at  a  time  when  there  were  historical 
painters  of  great  merit  on  the  list  of  Associates. 

As  an  Academician,  Constable,  though  a  landscape  painter, 
fulfilled  his  duties  as  visitor  in  the  Life  School  of  the  Academy. 
Artists  who  remembered  him  in  this  capacity  spoke  highly 
of  his  powers  as  a  teacher,  and  we  are  told  that  he  sometimes 
arranged  behind  his  models  a  beautiful  background  of  laurels 
and  evergreens  which  he  had  brought  from  Hampstead. 

Constable  had  lost  his  wife  the  year  before  his  election  as 
an  R.A.,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  this  loss,  coupled  with 
the  mortification  he  suffered  from  the  continual  want  of 
patronage  for  his  productions,  greatly  impaired  his  health. 
Judging  from  his  correspondence,  he  seems  to  have  been 
thoroughly  aware  of  his  great  powers  in  landscape,  and  was 
likewise  extremely  sensitive  to  criticism.  His  pictures  were 
seldom  favourably  noticed  in  the  newspapers  during  his  lifetime, 
and  it  must  have  been  a  very  painful  experience  to  him  to  have 


336      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

these  large  canvasses  year  after  year  returned  unsold  after  the 
exhibitions  closed. 

In  1833  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  on  Landscape 
Painting  at  the  Assembly  Rooms  at  Hampstead,  and  again 
in  1836  at  the  Royal  Institution,  Albemarle  Street.  These 
lectures  were  never  written  or  published,  the  only  account  we 
have  of  them  being  given  us  from  notes  and  recollections, 
by  C.  R.  Leslie,  R.A.,  in  his  memoirs  of  the  artist. 

His  death,  which  occurred  on  the  night  of  the  3ist  March 
1837,  was  unexpected  and  sudden,  although  he  had  been  far 
from  well  for  some  years.  He  was  buried  beside  his  wife  in 
the  south-east  corner  of  Hampstead  Churchyard. 

We  now  come  to  the  Associates  elected  during  the  Presi- 
dency of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  who  did  not  subsequently 
become  Academicians.  There  were  only  five  of  them  who 
failed  to  reach  the  higher  honour,  and  of  these  two  were  at 
that  period  ineligible  for  it,  being  engravers ;  the  other  three 
were  painters. 

HENRY  EDRIDGE,  A. 

Was  a  miniature  and  landscape  painter  of  considerable 
repute  in  his  day.  Born  at  Paddington  in  1768,  the  son  of 
a  tradesman,  he  was  apprenticed  at  the  age  of  fourteen  to 
William  Pether,  an  engraver  and  landscape  painter.  As  soon 
as  his  apprenticeship  was  over,  in  1784,  he  entered  the  Academy 
schools,  where  two  years  after  he  gained  a  silver  medal,  and, 
what  was  of  more  importance,  attracted  the  notice  of  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  who  allowed  him  to  make  miniature  copies  of 
his  works.  Thus  encouraged  he  took  to  miniature  portrait 
painting  as  a  profession,  and  with  great  success.  He  also  did 
excellent  likenesses  in  pencil  or  Indian  ink  and  water-colour, 
the  figure  being  drawn  and  the  face  finished  elaborately  in 
water-colour.  Nor  were  his  efforts  in  landscape  painting  with- 
out considerable  merit.  Several  of  his  water-colours  are  in  the 


GEORGE  CLINT  33T 

Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  and  some  of  his  portraits  in  the 
National  Portrait  Gallery. 

Elected  an  Associate  in  November  1820,  he  did  not  live  long 
to  enjoy  the  honour,  dying  in  April  of  the  following  year.  He 
bequeathed  to  the  Academy  a  portrait  by  Sir  Joshua  of  the 
latter's  Italian  servant,  Marchi. 

GEORGE  CLINT,  A. 

Born  in  1770,  the  son  of  a  hairdresser  in  a  street  off 
Holborn,  he  was  first  apprenticed  to  a  fishmonger,  but  disgusted 
with  that  employment  left  it  for  an  attorney's  office.  He  next 
tried  house-painting,  and  from  that  went  to  the  other  extreme, 
becoming  a  very  successful  miniature  painter.  Engraving  also 
engaged  his  attention,  and  he  executed  several  prints  for  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence,  with  whom,  however,  he  quarrelled  ;  and  his 
existence,  hampered  as  he  was  with  a  wife  and  a  large  family, 
became  for  some  time  a  very  precarious  one.  It  was  through 
engraving,  however,  that  he  eventually  found  the  road  to  success. 
He  had  been  commissioned  to  do  a  mezzotint  of  the  picture 
by  Harlow  of  "  The  Kemble  Family,"  which  had  caused  a  great 
sensation  when  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy,  and  the 
consequent  acquaintance  which  he  formed  with  the  principal 
actors  and  actresses  and  patrons  of  the  drama  led  to  his  painting 
a  number  of  dramatic  pictures  and  portraits  of  people  connected 
with  the  stage.  These  proved  very  popular,  and  he  was  much  in 
vogue  for  a  time  as  a  portrait  painter. 

In  1821  he  was  elected  an  Associate,  but  resigned  his 
diploma  in  1836,  aggrieved  at  younger  men  having  been  elected 
Academicians  over  his  head.  His  letter  of  resignation  has  not 
been  preserved,  but  from  the  nature  of  the  answer  which  was 
ordered  to  be  sent  to  him,  and  which  appears  in  the  Council 
Minutes  of  24th  February  1836,  it  may  be  presumed  not  to  have 
been  a  pleasant  one.  The  letter  is  as  follows : — "  Sir,  I  am 
directed  by  the  President  and  Council  to  acknowledge  the 

Y 


338      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

receipt  of  your  letter,  together  with  the  diploma  which  you  have 
returned  to  the  Academy,  and  to  inform  you  that  your  wish  to 
have  your  name  taken  off  the  list  of  Associates  will,  of  course, 
be  immediately  complied  with.  They  forbear  to  comment  on 
the  terms  in  which  you  have  thought  proper  to  convey  your 
resignation. — I  am,  Sir,  etc.,  Henry  Howard,  Secretary." 

Nor  did  Clint's  animosity  end  here,  for  his  injured  vanity  led 
him  to  take  up  an  attitude  of  angry  opposition  to  the  Academy, 
and  to  join  in  the  agitation  which  at  the  period  of  his  resignation 
was  being  got  up  against  it. 

For  many  years  before  his  death,  which  occurred  at 
Kensington  in  1854,  he  had  retired  from  the  practice  of  his 
profession. 

FRANCIS  DANBY,  A. 

One  of  the  select  band  of  Irishmen  who  have  made 
themselves  a  name  in  Art.  He  was  born  in  1793  near  Wexford, 
the  son  of  a  small  landed  proprietor.  Determined  to  become 
an  artist  he  studied  in  the  school  of  the  Royal  Dublin  Society, 
and  under  James  O'Connor,  the  landscape  painter.  Having 
had  a  success  with  the  first  picture — a  sunset  effect — which  he 
exhibited  at  the  Dublin  Exhibition  in  1812,  he  determined  to 
come  to  London,  stopping  for  some  time  on  the  way  at  Bristol. 
His  first  picture  at  the  Royal  Academy  was  in  1817  ;  others 
quickly  followed;  and  in  1825,  his  "Passage  of  the  Israelites 
through  the  Dead  Sea,"  gained  him  his  election  as  an  Associate. 
The  works  which  for  the  next  few  years  succeeded  these  were 
of  a  highly  imaginative  nature,  and  showed  to  the  full  his  talent 
for  poetical  composition  and  rich  and  glowing  colour :  the 
best  known  of  them  is  perhaps  "The  Opening  of  the  Sixth 
Seal." 

Circumstances,  which  need  not  be  entered  into  here,  led  to 
Danby's  going  abroad  in  1829,  and  remaining  away  till  1841. 
During  that  time  he  appears  to  have  been  in  difficulties,  as  the 
Minutes  of  the  Council  for  nth  November  1831  show,  that  in 


FRANCIS  DANBY  339 

response  to  a  letter  from  him,  from  Switzerland,  stating  that  he 
was  greatly  embarrassed  in  his  circumstances,  and  requesting 
assistance,  a  donation  of  £50  was  granted  to  him,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  distressed  state  of  himself  and  his  family.  During 
this  time  he  only  contributed  two  pictures  to  the  exhibition,  but 
from  the  date  of  his  return,  in  1841,  he  resumed  painting  and 
exhibiting  with  all  his  old  ardour  and  enthusiasm,  most  of  his 
works  being  executed  at  Exmouth,  where  he  died  in  1861. 

The  nature  of  Danby's  art  may  be  judged  by  the  fact,  that 
out  of  the  forty-six  pictures  he  exhibited  at  the  Academy,  all 
more  or  less  landscape  in  their  general  character,  there  are  only 
three  whose  titles  show  that  they  represented  actual  scenery, 
and  the  proportion  among  the  large  number  shown  at  the  British 
Institution  is  even  less.  Danby  made  no  attempt  to  copy 
Nature,  but  sought  to  place  on  canvas  his  ideal  conceptions  of 
her  in  her  grandest  and  noblest  aspects. 

RICHARD  JAMES  LANE,  A.E., 

an  engraver  of  very  considerable  merit,  no  doubt  inherited  his 
artistic  qualities  from  his  mother,  who  was  a  niece  of  Thomas 
Gainsborough ;  his  father  was  a  prebendary  of  Hereford,  and,  it 
may  be  added  as  not  without  interest,  his  elder  brother  was 
the  well-known  Oriental  traveller,  author  of  The  Modern 
Egyptians,  and  other  works.  Born  in  1800,  he  was  articled  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  to  Charles  Heath,  the  line  engraver  ;  but  finding 
little  encouragement  to  pursue  the  highest  branch  of  engraving, 
took  to  what  was  then  the  new  art  of  lithography,  and  after 
some  years,  devoted  himself,  though  with  much  regret,  to  that 
method  of  reproduction.  Among  his  first  works  were  a  series 
of  "  Sketches  by  Gainsborough " ;  then  came  "  Imitations  of 
British  Artists,"  and  "  Sketches  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence." 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1827,  and  subsequently 
appointed  lithographer  to  the  Queen,  for  whom  he  executed 
several  prints  of  members  of  the  Royal  Family  from  portraits 


340      ASSOCIATES  ELECTED  UNDER  LAWRENCE 

by  Winterhalter.  He  also,  in  his  later  years,  held  an  official 
post  in  the  art  department  at  South  Kensington.  His  death 
took  place  in  1872. 


CHARLES  TURNER,  A.E. 

Was  born  at  Woodstock  in  1773.  He  entered  the  Royal 
Academy  schools  in  1795,  and  was  employed  by  Boydell.  His 
first  works  were  in  the  style  of  Bartolozzi,  but  he  afterwards  took 
to  mezzotint  and  aquatint,  and  the  use  of  the  needle.  It  was  in 
this  manner  that  he  engraved  several  of  the  early  numbers  of 
his  namesake,  J.  M.  W.  Turner's  "Liber  Studiorum."  Many 
well-known  works  by  Reynolds,  Gainsborough,  Lawrence,  and 
other  eminent  artists  were  translated  by  him,  all  in  a  most 
admirable  manner ;  no  matter  what  style  he  used,  the  result  was 
always  excellent. 

He  was  elected  an  Associate  in  1828,  and  held  the  post  of 
Engraver-in-Ordinary  to  the  King.  He  died  in  1857. 

With  this  chapter  ends  the  record  of  the  Royal  Academy 
and  its  members  up  to  the  year  1830 — of  its  members,  that  is, 
with  one  exception,  Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee,  who,  elected  an 
Associate  in  1798,  and  an  Academician  in  1800,  will  properly 
take  his  place  in  its  history  as  the  successor  of  Lawrence  in  the 
Presidency. 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  at  the  close  of  this  volume 
to  quote  a  few  passages  from  the  speech  of  the  Prince  Consort, 
to  which  allusion  has  been  made  in  the  last  chapter. 

After  some  pregnant  remarks  on  the  duties  of  critics, 
criticism  being  "absolutely  necessary  to  the  development 
of  art,"  the  prince  goes  on  to  say :  "  We  have  now,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  eager  competition  of  a  vast  array  of  artists 
of  every  degree  of  talent  and  skill,  and,  on  the  other,  as 
judge,  a  great  public,  for  the  greater  part  wholly  uneducated 


CONTINUED  FAVOUR  OF  THE  CROWN         341 

in  art,  and  this  led  by  professional  writers,  who  often 
strive  to  impress  the  public  with  a  great  idea  of  their  own 
artistic  knowledge  by  the  merciless  manner  in  which  they  treat 
works  which  cost  those  who  produced  them  the  highest  effort  of 
mind  and  feeling."  To  these  evils,  it  is  added,  an  institution 
like  the  Academy  acts  as  a  counterpoise ;  it  educates  artists, 
and  those  who  distinguish  themselves  "receive  a  badge  of 
acknowledgment  from  their  professional  brethren  by  being 
elected  Associates,"  and  subsequently  by  being  "received  into 
a  select  aristocracy  of  a  limited  number."  "  If,"  he  proceeds, 
"this  body  is  often  assailed  from  without,  it  shares  only  the 
fate  of  every  aristocracy ;  if  more  than  another,  this  only  proves 
that  it  is  even  more  difficult  to  sustain  an  aristocracy  of  merit 
than  one  of  birth  or  of  wealth,  and  may  serve  as  a  useful  check 
upon  yourselves,  when  tempted,  at  your  elections,  to  let  personal 
predilections  compete  with  real  merit.  Of  one  thing,  however, 
you  may  rest  assured,  and  that  is,  the  continued  favour  of  the 
Crown.  The  same  feeling  which  actuated  George  III.  in  found- 
ing this  institution  still  actuates  the  Crown  in  continuing  to  it 
its  patronage  and  support,  recognising  in  you  a  constitutional 
link,  as  it  were,  between  the  Crown  itself  and  the  artistic  body ; 
and  when  I  look  at  the  assemblage  of  guests  at  this  table, 
I  may  infer  that  the  Crown  does  not  stand  alone  in  this  respect, 
but  that  those  feelings  are  shared  also  by  the  great  and  noble 
in  the  land.  May  the  Academy  long  flourish,  and  continue  its 
career  of  usefulness." 

These  gracious  sentiments  of  the  Crown  towards  the  Royal 
Academy  were — it  may  be  stated  here  without  indiscretion — 
fully  endorsed  by  His  Majesty  King  Edward  VII.  in  the  reply, 
signed  by  his  own  hand,  which  he  was  graciously  pleased  to 
give  to  the  address  presented  to  him  by  the  Royal  Academy 
on  his  accession  to  the  throne. 


APPENDICES 


LIST  OF  APPENDICES 


I      The  "Instrument"        .  .  .      345 

II.  List  of  the  Royal  Academicians  from  1768  to  1904,  with  the 
dates  of  their  birth,  admission  as  students,  election  as 
Associates,  election  as  Academicians,  and  death  .  352 

III.  List  of  the  Associates  who  have  not  become  Royal  Academi- 

cians from  1770  to  1904,  with  similar  dates          .  .       360 

IV.  List  of  Officers,  Professors,  and  Honorary  Members  of  the 

Royal  Academy  from  1768  to  1904  .  .  .      364 

V.     List  of  Diploma  Works  from  1770  to  1904         .  .  .       370 

VI.  List  of  Pictures  and  Statuary  other  than  Diploma  Works,  and 
of  various  objects  of  interest  belonging  to  the  Royal 
Academy  .......  377 

VII.     List  of  Students  who  have  obtained  Gold  Medals  and  Travel- 
ling Studentships,  1769  to  1904      ....       383 

VIII.     List  of  works  purchased  under  the  terms  of  the  Chantrey 

Bequest,  1877-1904  .  .  .  •  -393 


APPENDIX    I 

THE    INSTRUMENT 

THE  document  known  as  "The  Instrument"  contains  the  scheme  for  the 
foundation  and  government  of  the  Royal  Academy,  which  was  approved  by 
H.M.  King  George  III.,  who  ordered  it  to  be  put  in  execution,  signing  it  with 
his  own  hand.  Although  many  of  its  provisions  are  obsolete,  and  great  changes 
(as  provided  for  in  Clause  XXII.)  have  been  made  in  the  laws  and  regulations, 
the  Instrument  is  still,  as  it  were,  the  Charter  of  the  Academy,  and  its  funda- 
mental principles  have  lost  none  of  their  authority. 

INSTRUMENT. 

WHEREAS  sundry  persons,  resident  in  this  Metropolis,  eminent 
Professors  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture,  have  most  humbly 
represented  by  Memorial  unto  the  King,  that  they  are  desirous  of 
establishing  a  Society  for  promoting  the  Arts  of  Design,  and  earnestly 
soliciting  His  Majesty's  patronage  and  assistance  in  carrying  this  their 
plan  into  execution  ;  and,  Whereas,  its  great  utility  hath  been  fully 
and  clearly  demonstrated,  His  Majesty,  therefore,  desirous  of  encour- 
aging every  useful  undertaking,  doth  hereby  institute  and  establish 
the  said  Society,  under  the  name  and  title  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Arts  in  London,  graciously  declaring  himself  the  patron,  protector, 
and  supporter  thereof ;  and  commanding  that  it  be  established  under 
the  forms  and  regulations  hereinafter  mentioned,  which  have  been 
most  humbly  laid  before  His  Majesty,  and  received  his  royal  appro- 
bation and  assent. 

I.  The  said  Society  shall  consist  of  forty  Members  only,  who  shall 
be  called  Academicians  of  the  Royal  Academy  ;  they  shall  all  of  them 
be  artists  by  profession  at  the  time  of  their  admission,  that  is  to  say, 
Painters,  Sculptors,  or  Architects,  men  of  fair  moral  characters,  of 
high  reputation  in  their  several  professions  ;  at  least  five-and-twenty 
years  of  age  ;  resident  in  Great  Britain  ;  and  not  members  of  any  other 
society  of  artists  established  in  London. 

845 


346 


APPENDICES 


II.  It  is  His  Majesty's  pleasure  that  the  following  forty  persons  be 
the  original  Members  of  the  said  Society,  viz. : — 


JOSHUA  REYNOLDS. 
BENJAMIN  WEST. 
THOMAS  SANDBY. 
FRANCIS  COTES. 
JOHN  BAKER. 
MOSES  CHAMBERLAIN  (sic). 
JOHN  GWYNN. 
THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH. 
J.  BAPTIST  CIPRIANI  (sic). 
JEREMIAH  MEYER. 
FRANCIS  MILNER  NEWTON. 
PAUL  SANDBY. 


FRANCESCO  BARTOLOZZI. 
CHARLES  CATTON. 
NATHANIEL  HONE. 
WILLIAM  TYLER. 
NATHANIEL  DANCE. 
RICHARD  WILSON. 
G.  MICHAEL  MOSER. 
SAMUEL  WALE. 
PETER  TOMS. 
ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN. 
RICHARD  YEO. 
MARY  MOSER. 


WILLIAM  CHAMBERS. 
JOSEPH  WILTON. 
GEORGE  BARRET. 
EDWARD  PENNY. 
AUGUSTINO  CARLINI  (sic). 
FRANCIS  HAYMAN. 
DOMENIC  SERRES. 
JOHN  RICHARDS. 
FRANCESCO  ZUCCARELLI. 
GEORGE  DANCE. 
WILLIAM  HOARE. 
JOHAN  ZOFFANY. 


III.  After  the  first  institution,  all  vacancies  of  Academicians  shall 
be    filled    by   election    from    amongst   the   exhibitors   in   the   Royal 
Academy ;  the  names  of  the  candidates  for  admission  shall  be  put  up 
in  the  Academy  three  months  before  the  day  of  election,  of  which  day 
timely  notice  shall  be  given  in  writing  to  all  the  Academicians  ;  each 
candidate  shall,  on  the  day  of  election,  have  at  least  thirty  suffrages 
in  his  favour,  to  be  duly  elected  ;  and  he  shall  not  receive  his  Letter 
of  Admission  till  he  hath  deposited  in  the  Royal  Academy,  to  remain 
there,  a  Picture,  Bas-relief,  or  other  specimen  of  his  abilities,  approved 
of  by  the  then  sitting  Council  of  the  Academy. 

IV.  For  the  Government  of  the  Society,  there  shall  be  annually 
elected  a  President  and  eight  other  persons,  who  shall  form  a  Council, 
which  shall  have   the   entire   direction   and   management  of  all  the 
business  of  the  Society  ;  and  all  the  officers  and  servants  thereof  shall 
be  subservient  to  the  said  Council,  which  shall  have  power  to  reform 
all   abuses,  to   censure  such  as  are  deficient  in  their  duty,  and  (with 
the  consent  of  the   general   body,   and   the   King's   permission   first 
obtained  for  that  purpose),  to  suspend  or  entirely  remove  from  their 
employments  such  as  shall  be  found  guilty  of  any  great  offences.     The 
Council  shall  meet  as  often  as  the  business  of  the  Society  shall  require 
it ;   every  Member  shall   be   punctual   to   the  hour   of  appointment 
under  the  penalty  of  a  fine,  at  the  option  of  the  Council ;  and  at  each 
meeting,  the   attending  Members  shall  receive  forty-five  shillings   to 
be   equally  divided   amongst   them,  in   which   division,  however,  the 
Secretary  shall  not  be  comprehended. 

V.  The  seats   in   the   Council   shall  go   by  succession   to  all   the 
Members  of  the  Society,  excepting  the   Secretary,  who   shall   always 
belong  thereto.     Four  of  the  Council  shall  be  voted  out  every  year, 


APPENDIX  I  347 

and  these  shall  not  re-occupy  their  seats  in  the  Council,  till  all  the 
rest  have  served  ;  neither  the  President  or  Secretary  shall  have  any 
vote,  either  in  the  Council  or  General  Assembly,  excepting  the 
suffrages  be  equal,  in  which  case  the  President  shall  have  the  casting 
vote. 

VI.  There  shall  be  a  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Academy,  elected  by 
ballot,  from  amongst  the  Academicians,  and  approved  of  by  the  King  ; 
his  business   shall   be   to  keep  the  Minutes  of  the  Council,  to  write 
letters,  and  send  summonses,  &c.  ;  he  shall  attend  at  the  Exhibition, 
assist  in  disposing  the  performances,  make  out  the   Catalogues,  &c. ; 
he  shall  also,  when  the  Keeper  of  the  Academy  is   indisposed,  take 
upon  himself  the  care  of  the  Academy,  and   the   inspection   of  the 
Schools  of  Design,  for  which  he  shall  be  properly  qualified  ;  his  salary 
shall  be  sixty  pounds  a  year,  and  he  shall  continue  in  office  during  His 
Majesty's  pleasure. 

VII.  There  shall  be  a  Keeper  of  the  Royal  Academy,  elected  by 
ballot,  from  amongst  the  Academicians  ;  he  shall  be  an  able  painter  of 
History,  Sculptor,  or   other  Artist,  properly  qualified.     His   business 
shall  be  to  keep  the  Royal  Academy,  with  the  Models,  Casts,  Books, 
and    other    moveables    belonging    thereto  ;    to    attend    regularly   the 
Schools  of  Design,  during  the  sittings  of  the  Students,  to  preserve  order 
among  them,  and  to  give  them  such  advice  and  instruction  as  they 
shall  require  ;  he  shall  have  the  immediate  direction  of  all  the  servants 
of  the  Academy,  shall  regulate  all  things  relating  to  the  Schools,  and 
with   the   assistance   of  the   Visitors,  provide   the  living  Models,  &c. 
He  shall  attend  at  the  Exhibition,  assist  in  disposing  the  performances, 
and  be  constantly  at  hand  to  preserve  order  and  decorum.     His  salary 
shall   be   one   hundred   pounds   a   year  ;    he    shall  have  a  convenient 
apartment  allotted  him  in  the  Royal  Academy,  where  he  shall  con- 
stantly  reside ;   and   he   shall   continue   in   office   during   the   King's 
pleasure. 

VIII.  There  shall  be  a  Treasurer  of  the  Royal  Academy,  who,  as 
the    King   is   graciously  pleased   to   pay  all   deficiencies,  shall  be  ap- 
pointed by  His  Majesty  from  amongst  the  Academicians,  that  he  may 
have  a  person  in  whom  he  places  full  confidence,  in  an  office  where  his 
interest  is  concerned  ;   and  His   Majesty  doth   hereby  nominate   and 
appoint  William   Chambers,  Esquire,  Architect   of  his   Works,  to  be 
Treasurer  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts  ;  which  office  he  shall  hold, 
together  with  the  emoluments  thereof,  from  the  date  of  these  presents, 
and  during  His  Majesty's  pleasure.     His  business  shall  be  to   receive 
the  rents  and  profits  of  the  Academy,  to  pay  its  expenses,  to  super- 


348  APPENDICES 

intend  repairs  of  the  buildings  and  alterations,  to  examine  all  bills, 
and  to  conclude  all  bargains  ;  he  shall  once  in  every  quarter  lay  a  fair 
state  of  his  Accounts  before  the  Council,  and  when  they  have  passed 
examination  and  been  approved  there,  he  shall  lay  them  before  the 
Keeper  of  His  Majesty's  Privy  Purse,  to  be  by  him  finally  audited, 
and  the  deficiencies  paid  ;  his  salary  shall  be  sixty  pounds  a  year. 

IX.  That  the  Schools  of  Design  may  be  under  the  direction  of  the 
ablest   Artists,   there   shall    be   elected    annually   from   amongst   the 
Academicians   nine  persons,  who  shall  be  called  Visitors  ;   they  shall 
be   Painters   of   History,   able   Sculptors,   or   other   persons    properly 
qualified  ;  their  business  shall  be,  to  attend  the  Schools  by  rotation, 
each  a  month,  to   set   the   figures,  to   examine   the   performances   of 
the  Students,  to  advise  and  instruct  them,  to  endeavour  to  form  their 
taste,  and   turn  their  attention  towards  that  branch  of  the  Arts  for 
which  they  shall  seem  to  have  the  aptest  disposition.     These  officers 
shall   be   approved  of  by   the    King  ;    they   shall  be  paid  out  of  the 
Treasury  ten  shillings  and  sixpence  for  each  time  of  attending,  which 
shall  be  at  least  two   hours,  and  shall   be   subject  to   a   fine  of  ten 
shillings  and  sixpence  whenever  they  neglect  to   attend,  unless   they 
appoint  a  proxy  from  amongst   the   Visitors  for   the  time  being,  in 
which  case  he  shall  be  entitled  to  the  reward.     At  every  election  of 
Visitors,  four  of  the  old  Visitors  shall  be  declared  non-eligible. 

X.  There  shall  be  a  Professor  of  Anatomy,  who  shall  read  annually 
six  public  Lectures  in  the  Schools,  adapted  to  the  Arts  of  Design  ;  his 
salary  shall  be  thirty  pounds  a  year  ;  and  he  shall  continue  in  office 
during  the  King's  pleasure. 

XI.  There  shall  be   a   Professor   of  Architecture,  who   shall  read 
annually   six   public   Lectures,   calculated   to   form   the   taste   of   the 
Students,  to  instruct  them  in  the  laws  and  principles  of  composition, 
to  point  out  to  them  the  beauties  or  faults  of  celebrated  productions, 
to  fit  them  for   an   unprejudiced    study  of  books,  and   for   a   critical 
examination  of  structures  ;    his  salary  shall  be  thirty  pounds  a  year  ; 
and  he  shall  continue  in  office  during  the  King's  pleasure. 

XII.  There   shall   be    a    Professor    of   Painting,    who    shall    read 
annually   six    Lectures,   calculated    to    instruct   the   Students   in   the 
principles  of  composition,  to  form  their  taste  of  design  and  colouring, 
to  strengthen  their  judgment,  to  point  out  to  them  the  beauties  and 
imperfections  of  celebrated  works   of  Art,  and   the   particular  excel- 
lencies or  defects  of  great  masters,  and,  finally,  to  lead  them  into  the 
readiest  and  most  efficacious  paths  of  study  ;  his  salary  shall  be  thirty 


APPENDIX  I  349 

pounds  a  year  ;    and  he  shall   continue   in    office   during   the   King's 
pleasure. 

XIII.  There   shall   be   a   Professor  of  Perspective  and  Geometry, 
who  shall  read  six  public  Lectures  annually  in  the  Schools,  in  which 
all  the  useful  propositions  of  Geometry,  together  with  the  principle  of 
Lineal  and  Aerial   Perspective,  and   also   the   projection   of  shadows, 
reflections,  and  refractions    shall   be   clearly  and   fully  illustrated;    he 
shall   particularly  confine   himself  to  the  quickest,  easiest,  and   most 
exact  methods  of  operation.     He  shall  continue  in  office  during  the 
King's  pleasure  ;  and  his  salary  shall  be  thirty  pounds  a  year. 

XIV.  The  Lectures  of  all  the  Professors  shall  be  laid  before  the 
Council  for  its  approbation,  which  shall  be  obtained  in  writing,  before 
they  can  be  read  in  the  public  Schools.     All  these  Professors  shall  be 
elected  by  ballot,  the  three  last  from  amongst  the  Academicians. 

XV.  There  shall  be  a  Porter  of  the  Royal  Academy,  whose  salary 
shall  be  twenty-five  pounds  a  year  ;  he  shall  have  a  room  in  the  Royal 
Academy,  and  receive  his  orders  from  the  Keeper  or  Secretary. 

XVI.  There  shall   be   a   Sweeper  of  the   Royal  Academy,  whose 
salary  shall  be  ten  pounds  a  year. 

XVII.  There  shall  be  an  Annual  Exhibition  of  Paintings,  Sculp- 
ture, and  Designs,  which  shall  be  open  to  all  Artists  of  distinguished 
merit ;  it  shall  continue  for  the  public  one  month,  and  be  under  the 
regulations  expressed  in  the  bye-laws  of  the  Society,  hereafter  to  be 
made.     Of  the  profits  arising  therefrom,  two  hundred  pounds  shall  be 
given  to  indigent  artists,  or  their  families,  and  the  remainder  shall  be 
employed  in  the  support  of  the  Institution.     All   Academicians,   till 
they  have  attained  the  age  of  sixty,  shall  be  obliged  to  exhibit  at  least 
one  performance,  under  a  penalty  of  five  pounds,  to  be  paid  into  the 
treasury  of  the  Academy,  unless  they  can  show  sufficient   cause  for 
their  omission  ;   but,  after  that   age,  they  shall   be   exempt   from   all 
duty. 

XVIII.  There    shall   be    a   Winter    Academy  of  Living    Models, 
men  and  women  of  different  characters,  under  the  regulations  expressed 
in  the  bye-laws  of  the  Society,  hereafter  to  be  made,  free  to  all  Stu- 
dents who  shall  be  qualified  to  receive  advantage  from  such  studies. 

XIX.  There  shall   be   a   Summer  Academy  of  Living  Models,  to 
paint  after,  also  of  Laymen  with  draperies,  both  Ancient  and  Modern, 
Plaster   Figures,  Bas-reliefs,  models  and   designs   of  Fruits,  Flowers, 
Ornaments,  &c.,  free  to  all  artists  qualified  to  receive  advantage  from 


350  APPENDICES 

such  studies,  and  under  the  regulations  expressed  in  the  bye-laws  of 
the  Society  hereafter  to  be  made. 

XX.  There  shall  be   a   Library  of  Books  of  Architecture,  Sculp- 
ture, Painting,  and  all  the  Sciences  relating  thereto  ;   also   prints   of 
bas-reliefs,  vases,   trophies,   ornaments,    dresses,   ancient   and   modern 
customs   and   ceremonies,   instruments   of  war   and   arts,   utensils   of 
sacrifice,  and  all  other  things  useful  to  Students  in  the  Arts  ;  which 
Library  shall  be  open  one  day  in  every  week  to  all  Students  properly 
qualified.     One  of  the  Members  of  the  Council   shall   attend   in   the 
room  during  the  whole  time  it  is  open,  to  keep  order,  and  to  see  that 
no  damage  is  done  to  the  books  ;  and  he  shall  be  paid  los.  6d.  for  his 
attendance.     No   books   shall,  under   any  pretence,  be  suffered  to  be 
taken  out  of  the  Library  ;  but  every  Academician  shall  have  free  in- 
gress at  all  seasonable  times  of  the  day  to  consult  the  books,  and  to 
make  designs  or  sketches  from  them. 

XXI.  There  shall  be  annually  one  General  Meeting  of  the  whole 
body,  or  more  if  requisite,  to  elect  a  Council  and  Visitors  ;  to  confirm 
new  laws  and  regulations  ;  to  hear  complaints  and  redress  grievances, 
if  there  be  any  ;  and  to  do  any  other  business  relative  to  the  Society. 

XXII.  The  Council  shall   frame   new  laws   and   regulations  ;   but 
they  shall  have  no  force,  till  ratified  by  the  consent  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  the  approbation  of  the  King. 

XXIII.  Though  it  may  not  be  for  the  benefit  of  the   Institution 
absolutely  to  prohibit  pluralities,  yet  they  are  as  much  as  possible  to 
be  avoided,  that  His  Majesty's  gracious   intention   may  be   complied 
with,  by  dividing  as  nearly  as  possible  the  emoluments  of  the  Insti- 
tution amongst  all  its  Members. 

XXIV.  If  any  Member  of  the  Society  shall,  by  any  means,  become 
obnoxious,  it  may  be   put   to   the  ballot,  in   the   General   Assembly, 
whether   he   shall   be  expelled,  and  if  there  be  found  a  majority  for 
expulsion,  he  shall  be  expelled,  provided  His  Majesty's  permission  be 
first  obtained  for  that  purpose. 

XXV.  No  Student  shall  be  admitted  into  the  Schools,  till  he  hath 
satisfied  the  Keeper  of  the  Academy,  the  Visitor,  and  Council  for  the 
time  being,  of  his   abilities  ;   which  being  done,  he  shall  receive  his 
Letter  of  Admission,  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Academy,  certi- 
fying that  he  is  admitted  a  Student  in  the  Royal  Schools. 

XXVI.  If  any  Student   be  guilty  of  improper   behaviour   in   the 
Schools,  or  doth  not  quietly  submit  to  the  rules  and  Orders  established 


APPENDIX  I  351 

for  their  regulation,  it  shall  be  in  the  power  of  the  Council,  upon  com- 
plaint being  first  made  by  the  Keeper  of  the  Academy,  to  expel,  repri- 
mand, or  rusticate  him  for  a  certain  time  ;  but  if  he  be  once  expelled, 
he  shall  never  be  re-admitted  in  the  Royal  Schools. 

XXVII.  All  modes  of  election  shall  be  regulated  by  the  bye-iaws 
of  the  Society,  hereafter  to  be  made  for  that  purpose. 

I  approve  of  this  Plan ;  let  it  be  put  in  execution. 

GEORGE  R. 

ST  JAMES'S,  December  10,  1768. 


APPENDIX  II 


THE  ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS,  1768-1904, 

WITH  the  dates  respectively  of  their  Birth,  Admission  as  Students  of 
the  Academy,  Election  as  Associate  (A.),  election  as  Academician 
(R.A.),  and  Death  ;  also  the  office,  if  any,  held  by  them.  The  letter 
after  each  name  indicates  the  branch  of  art  in  which  each  was 
chiefly  distinguished,  viz.  : — P,  Painter,  S,  Sculptor,  A,  Architect, 
E,  Engraver. 

The  first  thirty-six  Academicians  were  nominated  by  George  III.  at 
the  foundation  of  the  Academy,  and  are  given  in  the  order  in  which 
they  are  named  in  the  "  Instrument." 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student 

A. 

R.A. 

Died. 

Office  held. 

JOSHUA  REYNOLDS  (Sir)  P 

1723 

... 

... 

I768 

1792 

President. 

BENJAMIN  WEST       .     P 

1738 

... 

1768 

1820 

President. 

THOMAS  SANDBY       .     A 

1721 

... 

1768 

1798 

Prof,  of  Architect. 

FRANCIS  COTES  .        .     P 

1725 

... 

... 

1768 

1770 

... 

JOHN  BAKER     .        .     P 

1736 

... 

... 

1768 

1771 

MASON  CHAMBERLIN      P 

(?) 

... 

... 

1768 

1787 

JOHN  GWYNN    .        .     A 

(?) 

... 

1768 

1786 

... 

THOS.  GAINSBOROUGH    P 

1727 

... 

1768 

1788 

... 

GIOVANNI       BATTISTA 
CIPRIANI       .       .     P 

}i727 

... 

1768 

1785 

JEREMIAH  MEYER      .     P 

1735 

... 

... 

1768 

1789 

... 

FRANCIS  MILNER  NEW- 
TON                     .     P 

JI720 

... 

... 

1768 

1794 

Secretary. 

PAUL  SANDBY    .       .     P 

1725 

... 

1768 

1809 

Dep.  Librarian. 

FRANCESCO  BARTOLOZZI 
P&E 

}i727 

... 

... 

1768 

1815 

... 

CHARLES  CATTON     .     P 

1728 

... 

1768 

1798 

... 

352 


APPENDIX  II 


353 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student 

A. 

R.A. 

Died. 

Office  held. 

NATHANIEL  HONE    .     P 

1718 

... 

... 

1768 

1784 

WILLIAM  TYLER       .     A 

(?) 

... 

... 

1768 

1801 

... 

NATHANIEL  DANCE  (after- 

} 

wards    Sir    N.    Dance- 

N734 

... 

1768* 

1811 

Holland,  Bart.)        .      P 

J 

RICHARD  WILSON     .     P 

1714 

... 

... 

1768 

1782 

Librarian. 

GEO.  MICHAEL  MOSER    S 

1704 

... 

... 

1768 

1783 

/Keeper  ;      Deputy 
\     Librarian. 

SAMUEL  WALE  .        .     P 

(?) 

... 

... 

1768 

1786 

I  Prof.  Perspective; 
V     Librarian. 

PETER  TOMS      .       .     P 

(?) 

... 

... 

1768 

1776 

... 

ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN     P 

1741 

... 

... 

1768 

1807 

... 

RICHARD  YEO   .       .     S 

(?) 

... 

... 

1768 

1779 

... 

MARY  MOSER    .       .     P 

(?) 

... 

1768 

1819 

... 

WM.  CHAMBERS  (Sir)      A 

1726 

... 

... 

1768 

1796 

Treasurer. 

JOSEPH  WILTON        .     S 

1722 

... 

... 

1768 

1803 

Keeper;  Librarian. 

{1732 

'V 

GEORGE  BARRET       .     P 

(or 

1 

... 

1768 

1784 

... 

EDWARD  PENNY        .     P 

1714 

... 

... 

1768 

1791 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

AGOSTINO  CARLINI    .     S 

(?) 

... 

... 

1768 

1790 

Keeper. 

FRANCIS  HAYMAN     .     P 

1708 

..  . 

... 

1768 

1776 

Librarian. 

DOMINIC  SERRES       .     P 

1722 

... 

... 

1768 

1793 

Librarian. 

JOHN  INIGO  RICHARDS    P 

(?) 

... 

... 

1768 

1810 

Secretary. 

FRANCESCO  ZUCCARELLI  P 

c.1  702 

... 

... 

1768 

1789 

... 

GEORGE  DANCE  .        .     A 

1740 

... 

... 

1768 

1825 

Prof,  of  Architect. 

WILLIAM  HOARE      .     P 

1706 

... 

... 

1769 

1792 

... 

JOHAN  ZOFFANY           .       P 

1733 

... 

... 

1769 

1810 

... 

EDWARD  BURCH       .     S 

(  ?) 

1769 

1770 

1771 

1814 

Librarian. 

RICHARD  COSWAY     .     P 

1740 

1769 

1770 

1771 

1821 

... 

JOSEPH  NOLLEKENS  .     S 

1737 

... 

1771 

1772 

1823 

... 

JAMES  BARRY    .       .     P 

1741 

... 

1772 

I773t 

1806 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

WILLIAM  PETERS  (Rev.)  P 

(?) 

... 

1771 

I777J 

1814 

Hon.  Chaplain. 

JOHN  BACON      .       .     S 

1740 

1769 

1770 

1778 

1799 

... 

JOHN  SINGLETON  COP- 
LEY                      .     P 

}i737 

... 

1776 

1779 

1815 

... 

PHILIP  JAMES  DE  Lou- 

\ 

1780 

1781 

1812 

THERBOURG     .          .       P 

/ 

EDMUND  GARVEY     .     P 

(?) 

... 

1770 

1783 

1813 

... 

JOHN  FRANCIS  RIGAUD  P 

1742 

... 

1772 

1784 

1810 

Dep.  Librarian. 

THOMAS  BANKS         .     S 

1735 

1769 

1784 

1785 

1805 

... 

JAMES  WYATT   .       .     A 

1748 

1770 

1785 

1813 

President  Elect. 

Resigned  17UO. 


t  Expelled  1779. 


J  Resigned  1790. 
Z 


354 


APPENDICES 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student 

A. 

R.A. 

Died. 

Office  held. 

JOSEPH  FARINGTON  .     P 

1747 

1769 

1783 

1785 

1821 

JOHN  OPIE        .       .     P 

1761 

1786 

1787 

1807 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

JAMES  NORTHCOTE    .     P 

1746 

1771 

1786 

1787 

1831 

... 

WILLIAM  HODGES     .     P 

1744 

... 

1786 

1787 

1797 

... 

JOHN  RUSSELL  .       .     P 

1744 

1770 

1772 

1788 

1806 

... 

WILLIAM  HAMILTON       P 

I75i 

1769 

1784 

1789 

1801 

... 

HENRY  FUSELI  .       .     P 

1741 

... 

1788 

1790 

1825 

/Prof,  of  Painting  ; 
\      Keeper. 

JOHN  VENN        .        .     A 

(?) 

1769 

1774 

1791 

1821 

Treasurer. 

JOHN  WEBBER  .       .     P 

1752 

1775 

1785 

1791 

1793 

... 

FRANCIS  WHEATLEY  .     P 

1747 

1769 

1790 

1791 

1801 

... 

OZIAS  HUMPHREY     .     P 

1742 

1779 

1791 

1810 

... 

ROBERT  SMIRKE       .     P 

1752 

1772 

1791 

1793 

1845 

... 

PETER  FRANCIS  BOUR- 
GEOIS (Sir)                  P 

}i756 

... 

1787 

1793 

1811 

... 

THOMAS  STOTHARD  .     P 

1755 

1777 

1791 

1794 

1834 

Librarian. 

THOMAS  LAWRENCE(Sir)P 

1769 

1787 

1791 

1794 

1830 

President. 

RICHARD  WESTALL  .     P 

1765 

1785 

1792 

1794 

1836 

... 

JOHN  HOPPNER         .     P 

1758 

1775 

1793 

1795 

1810 

... 

SAWREY  GILPIN        .     P 

1733 

1795 

1797 

1807 

... 

WILLIAM  BEECHEY  (Sir)  P 

1753 

1772 

1793 

1798 

1839 

... 

HENRY  TRESHAM      .     P 

fi749 
\    (or 
Ii756) 

}... 

1791 

1799 

1814 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

THOMAS  DANIELL     .     P 

1749 

1773 

1796 

1799 

1840 

... 

MARTIN  ARCHER  SHEE 
(Sir)        .         .         ,      P 

}i769 

1790 

1798 

1800 

1850 

President. 

JOHN  FLAXMAN        .     S 

1755 

1769 

1797 

1800 

1826 

Prof,  of  Sculpture. 

JOSEPH  MALLORD  WM. 
TURNER.       .       .     P 

}'775 

1789 

1799 

1802 

1851 

/"Prof,    of    Perspec- 
\     live. 

JOHN  SOANE  (Sir)      .     A 

1753 

1771 

1795 

1802 

1837 

Prof,  of  Architect. 

JN.  CHAS.  FELIX  Rossi    S 

1762 

I78l 

1798 

1802 

1839 

... 

HENRY  THOMSON      .     P 

1773 

1790 

1801 

1804 

1843 

Keeper. 

WILLIAM  OWEN        .     P 

1769 

1791 

1804 

1806 

1825 

.., 

SAMUEL  WOODFORDE     P 

1763 

1782 

1800 

1807 

1817 

HENRY  HOWARD      .     P 

1769 

1788 

1800 

1808 

1847 

/Secretary;  Prof.  of 
\     Painting. 

THOMAS  PHILLIPS     ,     P 

1770 

1791 

1804 

1808 

1845 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

NATHANIEL  MARCHANT  S 

1739 

... 

1791 

1809 

1816 

.». 

AUGUSTUS  WALL  CALL- 
COTT  (Sir)      .       .     P 

JI779 

1797 

1806 

1810 

1844 

... 

DAVID  WILKIE  (Sir)  .     P 

1785 

1805 

1809 

1811 

1841 

... 

JAMES  WARD     .       .     P 

1769 

... 

1807 

1811 

1859 

... 

APPENDIX  II 


355 


NAME. 

Born.     Student 

A. 

R.A. 

Died,    i           Office  held. 

j 

RICHARD  WESTMACOTT 
(Sir)       .       .       .     S 

}i775 

... 

-1805      1811 

1856      Prof,  of  Sculpture. 

ROBERT  SMIRKE  (Sir)     A 

1780 

1796 

1808      1811* 

1867 

Treasurer. 

HENRY  BONE    .       .     P 

1755 

1801 

1811 

1834 

..  . 

PHILIP  REINAGLE     .     P 

1749 

1769 

1787 

1812 

1833 

... 

WILLIAM  THEED       .     S 

1764 

1786 

1811      1813 

1817 

GEORGE  DAWE  .       .     P 

1781 

1794 

1809  j   1814 

1829 

WM.  REDMORE  BIGG      P 

1755 

1778 

1787 

1814 

1828  i 

EDWARD  BIRD  .       .     P 

1772 

1812 

1815 

1819 

... 

HENRY  RAEBURN  (Sir)  P 

1756 

1812 

1815 

1823 

... 

WILLIAM  MULREADY      P 

1786 

i8co 

1815 

1816 

1863 

... 

ALFRED  EDW.  CHALON   P 

1781 

1797 

1812 

1816 

1860 

... 

JOHN  JACKSON  .       .     P 

1778 

1805 

1815 

1817 

1831 

... 

FRANCIS  LEGATT  CHAN- 
TREY  (Sir)       .        .      S 

}I78i 

1816 

1818 

1841 

... 

WILLIAM  HILTON      .     P 

1786 

1806 

1813 

1819 

1839 

Keeper. 

ABRAHAM  COOPER    .     P 

1787 

1817 

1820 

1868 

... 

WILLIAM  COLLINS     .     P 

1788 

1807 

1814 

1820 

1847 

Librarian. 

EDWARD  HOFGES  BAJLY  S 

1788 

1809 

1817 

1821 

1867 

WILLIAM  DANIELL    .     P 

1769 

1799 

1807 

1822 

1837 

... 

RICHARD  COOK         .     P 

1784 

1800 

1816 

1822 

1857 

... 

RAMSAY  RICH.REINAGLE  P 

1775 

...     |   1814 

i823t 

1862 

... 

J  EFFRY  WTAT  VILLE  (Sir)  A 

1766 

... 

1822 

1824 

1840 

GEORGE  JONES  .       .     P 

1786 

1801 

1822 

1824 

1869 

Librarian  ;  Keeper. 

WILLIAM  WILKINS    .     A 

1778 

... 

1823 

1826 

1839 

Prof,  of  Architect. 

CHAS.  ROBERT  LESLIE  P 

1794 

1813 

1821 

1826 

1859 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

HY.  WM.  PICKERSGILL    P 

1782 

1805 

1822 

1826 

1875 

Librarian. 

WILLIAM  ETTY  .        .     P 

1787 

1807 

1824 

1828 

1849 

... 

JOHN  CONSTABLE      .     P 

1776 

1800 

1819 

1829 

1837 

CHARLES   LOCK  EAST- 
LAKE  (Sir)      .       .     P 

}i793 

1809 

1827 

1830 

1865 

r  Librarian  ;     Presi- 
\     dent. 

EDWIN   HENRY  LAND- 
SEER  (Sir)       .       .     P 

JI802 

1816 

1826 

1831 

1873 

... 

GILBERT  STUART  NEW- 
TON                      .     P 

}i794 

1820 

1828 

1832 

1835 

... 

HY.  PERRONET  BRIGGS  P 

1791 

1811 

1825 

1832 

1844 

... 

WM.  CLARKSON  STAN- 
FIELD                    .     P 

}i793 

... 

1832 

1835 

i   1867 

... 

WILLIAM  ALLAN  (Sir)     P 

1782 

... 

1825 

1835 

1850 

... 

JOHN  GIBSON     .       .     S 

1790 

... 

1833 

1836 

1866 

CHAS.ROBT.COCKERELL  A 

1788 

... 

1829 

1836 

1863 

Prof,  of  Architect. 

Resigned  1859. 


t  Resigned  1848. 


356 


APPENDICES 


NAMK. 

Bora. 

Student 

A. 

B.A. 

Di«d. 

Office  held. 

JOHN  PETER  DEEKING 
[Gandy]  ...      A 

}i787 

1805 

1826 

1838 

1850 

THOMAS  UWINS        .     P 

1782 

1798 

1833 

1838 

1857 

Librarian. 

FREDK.  RICHARD  LEE     P 

1798 

1818 

1834 

1838 

1879 

... 

WILLIAM  WYON        .     S 

1795 

1817 

1831 

1838 

1851 

... 

DANIEL  MACLISE       .     P 

1811 

1828 

1835 

1840 

1870 

... 

WM.  FREDK.  WITHER- 

INGTON    .          .          .       P 

}i785 

1805 

1830 

1840 

1865 

... 

SOLOMON    ALEXANDER 
HART                   .     P 

}i8o6 

1823 

1835 

1840 

1881 

fProf.  of  Painting  ; 
\     Librarian. 

PHILIP  HARDWICK    .     A 

1792 

1808 

1839 

1841 

1870 

Treasurer. 

DAVID  ROBERTS             P 

1796 

... 

1838 

1841 

1864 

... 

JOHN  JAMES  CHALON      P 

1778 

1796 

1827 

1841 

1854 

... 

CHARLES  BARRY  (Sir)     A 

1795 

... 

1840 

1842 

1860 

... 

WM.    CHARLES     Ross 
(Sir)                .       .     P 

}i794 

1808 

1838 

1843 

1860 

... 

JOHN  PRESCOTT  KNIGHT  P 

1803 

1823 

1836 

1844 

1881 

/Secretary  ;  Prof,  of 
\     Perspective. 

CHARLES  LANDSEER  .     P 

1799 

1816 

1837 

1845 

1879 

Keeper. 

THOMAS  WEBSTER    .     P 

1800 

1821 

1840 

I846 

1886 

... 

PATRICK  MACDOWELL     S 

1799 

1830 

1841 

I846 

1870 

..  . 

JOHN  ROGERS  HERBERT  P 

1810 

1826 

I84I 

1846 

1890 

CHARLES  WEST  COPE     P 

1811 

1828 

1843 

1848 

1890 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

WILLIAM  DYCE  .       .     P 

1806 

I844 

I848 

1864 

... 

RICHARD  WESTMACOTT  S 

1799 

1818 

1838 

1849 

1872 

Prof,  of  Sculpture. 

JOHN  WATSON  GORDON 
(Sir)         .         .         .      P 

}i79° 

... 

1841 

1851 

1864. 

... 

THOMAS  CRESWICK  .     P 

1811 

... 

I842 

l8;i 

1869 

.. 

RICHARD  REDGRAVE      P 

1804 

1826 

1840 

1851 

!888 

... 

FRANCIS  GRANT  (Sir)     P 

1803 

I842 

1851 

1878 

President. 

WM.  CALDER  MARSHALL  S 

1813 

1834 

1844 

1852 

1894 

... 

WM.  POWELL  FRITH  .     P 

1819 

1837 

1845 

1853 

... 

SAMUEL  COUSINS      .     E 

1801 

... 

1835 

1855 

1887 

... 

EDWARD  MATT.  WARD  P 

1816 

1835 

1846 

1855 

1879 

... 

ALFRED  ELMORE       .     P 

1815 

1832 

1845 

1857 

1881 

... 

FREDERICK      RICHARD 

PlCKERSGILL  .          .       P 

|l820 

1840 

1847 

1857 

1900 

Keeper. 

GEORGE  THOMAS  Doo    E 

1800 

... 

1856 

1857 

1886 

... 

JOHN  HENRY  FOLEY  .     S 

1818 

1835 

1849 

1858 

1874 

... 

JOHN  PHILLIP   .       .     P 

1817 

1837 

1857 

1859 

1867 

... 

SYDNEY  SMIKKE       .     A 

1798 

1817 

1847 

I8$9 

1877 

fProf.   of  Architec- 
\     ture  ;  Treasurer. 

JAMES  CLARKE  HOOK     P 

1819 

1836 

1850 

1860 

... 

... 

APPENDIX  II 


357 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student 

A. 

E.A. 

Died. 

Office  held. 

AUGUSTUS  LEOPOLD  EGG 
P 

\i8l6 

1836 

1848 

1860 

1863 

... 

GEORGE  GILBERT  SCOTT 
(Sir)       ...     A 

\i8ii 

... 

1855 

1860 

1878 

/Prof,  of  Architec- 
\     ture. 

PAUL  FALCONER  POOLE  P 

1810 

... 

1846 

1861 

1879 

... 

HENRY  WEEKES        .     S 

1807 

1823 

1851 

1863 

1877 

Prof,  of  Sculpture. 

WILLIAM  BOXALL  (Sir)    P 

1800 

1819 

1851 

1863 

1879 

... 

FREDERICK  GOODALL     P 

1822 

... 

1852 

1863 

1904 

... 

JOHN  EVERETT  MILLAIS 
(Sir,  Bart.)      .         .      P 

}l829 

1840 

1853 

1863 

1896 

President. 

EDWARD  WM.  COOKE     P 

1811 

1851 

1863 

1880 

... 

JOHN  CALLCOTT  HORS- 

LEY                                   .        P 

}i8i7 

1831 

1855 

1864 

1903 

Treasurer. 

THOMAS  FAED  .       .     P 

1826 

... 

1861 

1864 

1900 

... 

JOHN  FREDERICK  LEWIS  P 

1805 

... 

1859 

1865 

1876 

... 

GEORGE  RICHMOND  .     P 

1809 

1824 

1857 

1866 

1896 

... 

CARLO     MAROCHETTI 
(Baron)                     .      S 

}i8o9 

... 

1861 

1866 

1867 

... 

THOS.  SIDNEY  COOPER    P 

1803 

1824 

1845 

1867 

1902 

... 

PHILIP  HERMOGENES 
CALDERON      .       .     P 

}i833 

... 

1864 

1867 

1898 

Keeper. 

JOHN  HENRY  ROBINSON  E 

1796 

... 

1856 

1867 

1871 

... 

GEO.  FREDK.  WATTS  .     P 

1817 

1835 

1867 

1867 

1904 

FREDERIC      LEIGHTON 
(Sir,  Bart.,  and  Baron)  P 

}i830 

1864 

1868 

1896 

President. 

EDWARD     MIDDLETON 
BARRY   ...     A 

|i830 

1848 

1861 

1869 

1880 

Treasurer. 

JAMES  SANT      .       .     P 

1820 

1840 

1861 

1869 

... 

... 

HENRY     TAN  WORTH 
WELLS                   .     P 

\i828 

... 

1866 

1870 

1903 

... 

RICHARD  ANSDELL    .     P 

1815 

1861 

1870 

1885 

WM.  EDWARD  FROST      P 

1810 

1829 

1846 

1870 

1877 

GEO.  EDMUND  STREET   A 

1824 

... 

1866 

1871 

1881 

/Treasurer;  Prof.  of 
\     Architecture. 

WM.     CHAS.     THOS. 
DOBSON                 .     P 

}i8i7 

1836 

1860 

1871 

1898 

LUMB  STOCKS    .       .     E 

1812 

... 

1853 

1871 

1892 

... 

EDWARD  ARMITAGE  .     P 

1817 

... 

1867 

1872 

1896 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

JOHN  PETTIE     .       .     P 

1839 

... 

1866 

1873 

1893 

... 

THOMAS  WOOLNER   .     S 

1825 

1842 

1871 

1874 

1892 

Prof,  of  Sculpture. 

EDWARD  JOHN  POYNTER 
(Sir)         .         .         .      P 

}i836 

1855 

1869 

1876 

... 

President. 

JOHN  GILBERT  (Sir)  .     P 

1817 

... 

1872 

1876 

1897 

... 

GEORGE  DUNLOP  LESLIE  P 

1835 

1854 

1868 

1876 

... 

... 

358 


APPENDICES 


NAMB. 

Born. 

Student 

A. 

R.A. 

Died. 

Office  held. 

HENRY    WM.     BANKS 
DAVIS                   .     P 

I-I833 

1851 

1873 

1877 

... 

WM.  QUILLER  ORCHARD- 
SON                       .     P 

^835 

... 

1868 

1877 

... 

RICHARD  NORMAN  SHAW 
A 

|-i83i      1849 

1872 

1877 

... 

WM.  FREDK.  YEAMES      P 

I83S 

... 

1866       1878 

... 

Librarian. 

HENRY  STACY  MARKS    P 

1829 

1851 

1871 

1878 

I898 

... 

LAWRENCE    ALMA   TA- 
DEMA(Sir)      .         .      P 

[1836 

... 

1876 

1879 

... 

JOHN  EVAN  HODGSON    P 

1831 

1855 

1873 

1879 

1895 

/Librarian  ;  Prof,  ol 
\       Painting. 

HY.  HUGH  ARMSTEAD     S 

1828 

1847 

I87S 

1879 

.., 

VICAT  COLE       .        .     P 

1833 

1870 

1880 

1893 

JOHN     LOUGHBOROUGH 
PEARSON        .       .     A 

}(0 

... 

1874 

1880 

1897 

• 

WALTER  WM.  OULESS     P 

1848 

1865 

1877 

1881 

... 

BRITON  RIVIERE       .     P 

1840 

... 

1878 

1881 

... 

... 

THOS.  OLDHAM  BARLOW 
E 

}i824 

1873 

1881 

1889 

... 

EDWIN  LONG     .        .     P 

1829 

1849 

1876 

1881 

1891 

PETER  GRAHAM        .     P 

1836 

1877 

1881 

... 

... 

JOSEPH  EDGAR   BOEHM 
(Sir,  Bart.)       .         .      S 

}i834 

... 

1878 

1882 

1890 

FRANK  HOLL     .        .     P 

1845 

1861 

1878 

1883 

1888 

... 

ALFRED  WATERHOUSE    A 

1830 

... 

1878 

1885 

... 

Treasurer. 

MARCUS  STONE  .       .     P 

1840 

... 

1877 

1887 

... 

... 

S.  LUKE  FILDES         .     P 

1844 

1866 

1879 

1887 

... 

... 

WM.    HAMO   THORNY- 
CROFT                         S 

jiSso 

1869 

1881 

1888 

... 

... 

JOHN    BAGNOLD    BUR- 
GESS                      .    p 

}i830 

1849 

1877 

1888 

1897 

... 

HUBERT  v.  HERKOMER  P 

1849 

1879 

1890 

... 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

THOMAS  BROCK         .     S 

1847 

1867 

1883 

1891 

... 

... 

ANDREW  CARRICK  Gow  P 

1848 

... 

1881 

1891 

... 

FRANK  DICKSEE        .     P 

1853 

1871 

I$8l 

1891 

... 

ALFRED  GILBERT       .     S 

1854 

1874 

1887 

1892 

... 

Prof,  of  Sculpture. 

JOHN  MACWHIRTER  .     P 

1839 

... 

1879 

1893 

... 

... 

HENRY  WOODS  .       .     P 

1846 

... 

1882 

1893 

... 

... 

HENRY  MOORE  .       .     P 

1831 

1853 

1885 

1893 

1895 

... 

VALENTINE      CAMERON 
PRINSEP.       .       .     P 

}i838 

... 

1879 

1894 

1904 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

JOHN  WM.  WATERHOUSE 
P 

|i849     1871      1885 

1895 

APPENDIX  II 


359 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student 

A. 

R.A. 

Died. 

Office  held. 

EDWARD  ONSLOW  FORD 
S 

}l852 

... 

1888 

1895 

1901 

... 

WM.  BLAKE  RICHMOND 
(Sir)        .        .        .      P 

}l842 

1858 

1888 

1-895 

... 

Prof,  of  Painting. 

GEO.  HENRY  BOUGHTON  P 

1833 

... 

1879 

1896 

... 

... 

ERNEST  CROFTS        .     P 

1847 

... 

1878 

I896 

... 

Keeper. 

THOS.  GRAHAM  JACKSON 
A 

}i83$ 

... 

1892 

1896 

... 

Treasurer. 

JOHN  SINGER  SARGENT  P 

1856 

... 

I894 

1897 

... 

... 

EDWARD  JOHN  GREGORY 
P 

}i85o 

1870 

1883 

1898 

... 

... 

GEORGE  AITCHISON  .     A 

1825 

... 

iSSi 

1898 

... 

Prof,  of  Architect. 

BENJAMIN      WILLIAMS 
LEADER                      P 

}i83i 

1853 

1883 

1898 

... 

... 

JOHN  SEYMOUR  LUCAS   P 

1849 

1871 

1886 

1898 

... 

... 

EDWARD  AUSTIN  ABBEY  P 

1852 

... 

1896 

1898 

... 

... 

GEO.  FREDK.  BODLEY     A 

1827 

... 

1882 

1902 

... 

... 

GEO.  JAMES  FRAMPTON  S 

1860 

1882 

1894 

1902 

... 

... 

ERNEST  ALBERT  WATER- 
LOW  (Sir)        .        .      P 

}i85o 

1872 

1890 

1903 

... 

... 

ROBT.  WM.  MACBETH     P 

1848 

1871 

1883 

1903 

... 

... 

ASTON  WEBB     .       .     A 

1849 

... 

1899 

1903 

... 

... 

LIST  OF  HONORARY  FOREIGN  ACADEMICIANS, 

1868-1904 

IN   1868  a  Class  of  Honorary  Foreign  Academicians  was  instituted. 
The  following  have  been  elected  : — 


Louis  GALLAIS        .       .       .  P  1869 

CLAUDE  J.  B.  E.  GUILLAUME  .  S  1869 

EUGENE  E.  VIOLLET  LE  Due  .  A  1869 

Louis  P.  HENRIQUEL  DUPONT  E  1869 

JEAN  Louis  MEISSONIER  .       .  P  1869 

JEAN  LEON  GEROMB       .       .  P  1869 


LUDWIG  KNAUS 
PAUL  DUBOIS  . 
ADOLF  MINZEL 
JULES  BREBON. 
LEON  BONN  AT. 
EMMANUEL  FRE"MIET 


.  P  1882 

.  P  and  S  1896 

.  P  1896 

.  .  P  1899 

.     P  1904 

.     S  1904 


APPENDIX    III 

LIST  OF  ASSOCIATES  WHO   HAVE   NOT  BECOME 
ROYAL  ACADEMICIANS,  1770-1904, 

WITH  the  dates  respectively  of  their  Birth,  Admission  as  Students  of 
the  Academy,  Election  as  Associate  Engraver  (A.E.),  or  Associate 
(A.),  and  Death.  The  letter  after  each  name  indicates  the  branch 
of  art  in  which  each  was  chiefly  distinguished — viz.,  P,  Painter  ;  S, 
Sculptor  ;  A,  Architect ;  E,  Engraver. 

The  full  number  of  twenty  Associates  was  not  completed  till  1773, 
nor  the  full  number  of  Associate  Engravers  till  1775.  In  1866  the 
number  of  Associates  was  made  unlimited,  with  a  minimum  of  twenty, 
and  in  1879  the  minimum  was  raised  to  thirty,  exclusive  of  Engravers. 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student. 

A. 

Died. 

THOMAS  MAJOR                              .     E 

1720 

... 

1770 

1799 

SIMON  FRANCOIS  RAVENET     .       .     E 

1706 

... 

1770 

1774 

PETER  CHARLES  CANOT                       E 

c.  1710 

... 

1770 

1777 

JOHN  BROWNE  E 

1741 

I77O 

1801 

THOMAS  CHAMBERS                             E 

/  *t 

c.  1724 

..  . 

*  /  / 

1770 

1789 

EDWARD  STEVENS    ....     A 

(?) 

... 

1770 

1775 

GEORGE  JAMES  P 

(?) 

... 

1770 

1795 

ELIAS  MARTIN  P 

I74.O 

1760 

I77O 

(?)* 

ANTONIO  ZUCCHI     .       .       .       .     P 

*  /  T^w 

1726 

*  /       ,7 

1770 

V.    s 

1795 

MICHAEL  ANGELO  ROOKER      .       .     P 

1743 

1769 

1770 

1801 

WILLIAM  PARS  P 

1742 

1769 

1770 

1782 

NICHOLAS  THOMAS  DALL        .       .     P 

(?) 

1771 

1777 

BIAGIO  REBECCA                                   P 

1735 

1769 

1771 

1808 

WILLIAM  TOMKINS                               P 

c.  1730 

... 

1771 

1792 

STEPHEN  ELMER                            .     P 

(?) 

... 

1772 

1796 

*  His  name  was  included  in  the  annual  list  of  members  till  1832,  but  he  is  supposed  to  have  died 
sometime  between  1804  and  1818. 
360 


APPENDIX  III 


361 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student. 

A. 

Died. 

EDWARD  EDWARDS*                       .     P 

1738 

1769 

1773 

1806 

VALENTINE  GREEN                         .     E 

1739 

... 

1775 

1813 

WILLIAM  PARRY                             .     P 

1742 

1769 

1776 

1791 

JOHN  HAMILTON  MORTIMER    .       .     P 

1741 

1778 

1779 

JAMES  NIXON    P 

c.  1  741 

I76Q 

1778 

1812 

HORACE  HONE  P 

*'*    A  /  T1* 

r.i755 

J.  /  v^ 

1770 

j.  /  /<j 
1779 

1825 

GEORGE  STUBBS                                   P 

1724 

... 

i78ot 

1806 

JOSEPH  WRIGHT  (of  Derby)      .        .     P 

1734 

1775 

I78i£ 

1797 

FRANCIS  HAWARD                                E 

1759 

1776 

1783 

1797 

JOSEPH  COLLYER                                 E 

1748 

1771 

1786 

1827 

JOSEPH  BONOMI       ....     A 

1739 

... 

1789 

1808 

JAMES  HEATH  E 

1757 

1791 

1834 

JOHN  DOWNMAN       .       .       .       .     P 

1750 

1769 

1795 

1824 

ANKER  SMITH  E 

1759 

... 

1797 

1819 

GEORGE  GARRARD                               P 

1760 

1778 

1800 

1826 

JAMES  FITTLER                                    E 

1758 

1778 

1800 

1835 

JOSEPH  GANDY  A 

1771 

1789 

1803 

1843 

THEOPHILUS  CLARKE                            P 

1776  (?) 

1793 

1803 

1831  (?) 

JOHN  LANDSEER                             .     E 

1769 

1806 

1852 

ARCHER  JAMES  OLIVER                        P 

1774 

1790 

1807 

1842 

SAMUEL  DRUMMOND                            P 

1770 

1791 

1808 

1844 

GEORGE  ARNALD                                  P 

1763 

1810 

1841 

WILLIAM  WESTALL                         .     P 

1781 

1812 

1850 

GEORGE  FRANCIS  JOSEPH         .       .     P 

1764 

1784 

1813 

1846 

WILLIAM  WARD                              .     E 

1766 

... 

1814 

1826 

WASHINGTON  ALLSTON                        P 

1779 

1801 

1818 

1843 

WILLIAM  BROMLEY                              E 

1769 

... 

1819 

1842 

HENRY  EDRIDGE                                 P 

1768 

1784 

1820 

1821 

GEORGE  CLINT                                    P 

1770 

I82I§ 

1854 

FRANCIS  DANBY                              .     P 

1793 

1825 

1861 

RICHARD  JAMES  LANE                    .     E 

1800 

... 

1827 

1872 

CHARLES  TURNER                                E 

1773 

1795 

1828 

1857 

ANDREW  GEDDES                                 P 

1783 

1807 

1832 

1844 

ROBERT  GRAVES                            .     E 

1798 

1836 

i873 

GEORGE  PATTEN                             .     P 

1801 

1816 

1837 

1865 

1708 

1842 

18;=; 

JAMES  TIBBETTS  WILLMORE    .       .     E 

/  *y  v 

1800 

*  u^ 

1843 

*  ^3  J 

1863 

THOMAS  DUNCAN     .       .       .       .     P 

1807 

... 

1843 

1845 

*  Teacher  of  Perspective.  t  Elected  R.A.  in  1781,  but  declined. 

J  Elected  R.A.  in  1784,  but  declined,  and  desired  that  his  name  should  be  erased  from  the  list  of 
Associates.  %  Resigned  1835. 


APPENDICES 


NAMK. 

Born. 

Student. 

A. 

Died. 

ROBERT  THORBURN                             P 

1818 

1836 

1848 

1885 

FRANK  STONE  P 

1800 

1851 

1859 

HENRY  NELSON  O'NEiL                  .     P 

1817 

1836 

1860 

1880 

1819 

y 

1834 

1863 

1904 

EDWARD  B.  STEPHENS                          S 

1815 

*  w  J~T 

1836 

1864 

1882 

ERSKINE  NICOL                              .     P 

1825 

... 

1866 

1904 

JOSEPH  DURHAM                                  S 

1814 

... 

1866 

1877 

THOMAS  LANDSEER                              E 

1795 

... 

1868 

1880 

GEO.  HEMMING  MASON                         P 

1818 

... 

1869 

1872 

FREDERICK  WALKER                            P 

1840 

1858 

1871 

1875 

GEO.  ADOLPHUS  STORE  v                       P 

1834 

1853 

1876 

... 

JOHN  WRIGHT  OAKES                           P 

1820 

1876 

1887 

WM.  FREDK.  WOODINGTON      .       .     S 

1806 

... 

1876 

1893 

EYRE  CROWE    P 

1824 

1845 

1876 

... 

PHILIP  RICHARD  MORRIS        .        .     P 

1838 

1854 

1877 

1902 

CHARLES  BELL  BIRCH                           S 

1832 

I85S 

1880 

1893 

FREDERIC  STACPOOLE                           E 

(?) 

... 

1880 

... 

JOHN  BRETT     P 

1832 

1853 

1881 

1902 

WILLIAM  BURGES     ....     A 

1827 

1881 

1881 

FRANCIS  HOLL  E 

1815 

... 

1883 

1884 

COLIN  HUNTER                                    P 

1841 

... 

1884 

1904 

EDWARD  BURNE-JONES    .       .       .     P 

1833 

1885* 

1898 

ARTHUR  WM.  BLOMFIELD  (Sir;       .     A 

1829 

... 

1888 

1899 

WILLIAM  LIONEL  WYLLIE       .       .     P 

1851 

1866 

1889 

... 

DAVID  MURRAY                                   P 

1849 

1891 

... 

STANHOPE  A.  FORBES                           P 

1857 

1874 

1892 

... 

HARRY  BATES  S 

1850 

1881 

1892 

1899 

JOHN  WILLIAM  NORTH                        P 

(?) 

1893 

FRANK  BRAMLEY                                 P 

1857 

... 

1894 

... 

JOHN  M'ALLAN  SWAN                           P 

1847 

1872 

1894 

... 

ARTHUR  HACKER                           .     P 

1858 

1876 

1894 

... 

GEORGE  CLAUSEN  t  .       .       .       .     P 

1852 

... 

1895 

... 

SOLOMON  J.  SOLOMON                          P 

1860 

1877 

1896 

ALFRED  PARSONS                                  P 

1847 

... 

1897 

... 

JAMES  JEBUSA  SHANNON  .       .       .     P 

1862 

... 

1897 

... 

LIONEL  PERCY  SMYTHE    .       .       .     P 

1840 

... 

1898 

... 

HENRY  HERBERT  LA  THANGUE      .     P 

(?) 

1875 

1898 

... 

CHARLES  NAPIER  HEMY  .       .       .     P 

1841 

... 

1898 

... 

ARTHUR  STOCKDALE  COPE      .       .     P 

1857 

1874 

1899 

... 

ALFRED  EAST   P 

1849 

... 

1899 

... 

Resigned  1893. 


t  Prof,  of  Painting. 


APPENDIX  III 


363 


NAME. 

Born. 

Student. 

A.               Died. 

WM.  GOSCOMBE  JOHN                          S 

1860 

1884 

1899 

HENRY  SCOTT  TUKE                      .     P 

1858 

1900 

JOHN  BELCHER        ....     A 

(?) 

1900 

... 

EDW.  ALF.  BRISCOE  DRURY     .       .     S 

1857 

... 

1900 

... 

JOSEPH  FARQUHARSON                         P 

1847 

... 

1900 

MATTHEW  RIDLEY  CORBET     .       .     P 

1850 

1872 

1902 

1902 

JOHN  HENRY  FREDK.  BACON   .       .     P 

1866 

1887 

1903 

WILLIAM  ROBERT  COLTON      .       .      S 

1867 

1889 

1903 

JOHN  ALF.  ARNESBY  BROWN   .       .     P 

1866 

1903 

... 

CHARLES  W.  FURSE                        .     P 

1868 

... 

1904 

1904 

HENRY  ALFRED  PEGRAM                      S 

1863 

1881 

1904 

FRANK  BRANGWYN                              P 

(?) 

... 

1904 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Academicians  and  Associates  who 
have  retired  since  the  institution  of  the  class  of  Honorary  Retired 
Academicians  in  1852  and  of  Honorary  Retired  Associates  in  1884, 
with  the  date  of  their  retirement : — 

Academicians — EDWARD     HODGES     BAILEY,     CHAS.     ROB.     COTTERELL,     1862  ;     WM. 

FREDK.  WITHERINGTON,  1863;  ABRAHAM  COOPER,  GEORGE  THOS.  Doo,  1866; 
PHILIP  HARDWICK,  1869;  PATRICK  MACDOWELL,  1870;  RICHARD  WEST- 
MACOTT,  FREDK.  RICHD.  LEE,  1871 ;  HENRY  WM.  PICKERSGILL,  1872;  THOMAS 
WEBSTER,  JOHN  FREDK.  LEWIS,  WM.  EDW.  FROST,  1876;  SYDNEY  SMIRKE, 
SIR  WM.  Box  ALL,  HENRY  WEEKES,  1877 ;  PAUL  FALCONER  POOLE,  SAMUEL 
COUSINS,  1879;  RICHARD  REDGRAVE,  1881 ;  CHAS.  WEST  COPE,  1883;  JOHN 
ROGERS  HERBERT,  1886;  GEORGE  RICHMOND,  1887;  FREDK.  RICHD.  PICKERS- 
GILL,  1888;  WM.  POWELL  FRITH,  WM.  CALDER  MARSHALL,  1890;  THOS. 
FAED,  1892;  EDWARD  ARMITAGE,  1894;  WM.  CHAS.  THOS.  DOBSON,  1895; 
HY.  STACY  MARKS,  GEO.  FREDK.  WATTS,  1896 ;  JOHN  CALLCOTT  HORSLEY, 
1897  ;  FREDK.  GOODALL,  1902  ;  ALFRED  WATERHOUSE,  1903. 

Associates— ERSKINE  NlCOL,   ROBERT  THORBURN,  WM.  FREDK.  WOODINGTON,  1885  ; 

HENRY  LE  JEUNE,  1886 ;  FREDK.  STACPOOLE,  1891 ;  PHILIP  RICHD.  MORRIS, 
1900 ;  JOHN  BRETT,  1901. 


APPENDIX    IV 

LIST  OF  OFFICERS,   PROFESSORS,  AND  HONORARY 
MEMBERS  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY,  1768-1904 

OFFICERS 

Only  Academicians  are  eligible  for  the  Offices  of  President,  Keeper, 
Treasurer,  and  Librarian.  This  rule  applied  also  to  the  Secretaryship 
until  1873,  when  a  layman  was  appointed. 

Presidents 
The  President  is  subject  to  re-election  annual!)-  on  December  10. 

Sir  JOSHUA  REYNOLDS          .......    1768—1792 

BENJAMIN  WEST  (with  an  interval  of  a  year,  1805-1806)       .  .  .     1792—1820 

Sir  THOMAS  LAWRENCE        .......    1820—1830 

Sir  MARTIN  ARCHER  SHEE    .......    1830—1850 

Sir  CHARLES  LOCK  EASTLAKE          ......    1850—1865 

Sir  FRANCIS  GRANT  (after  the  office  had  been  declined  by  Sir  E.  Landseer)     1866—1878 
Lord  LEIGHTON  OF  STRETTON         ......    1878 — 1896 

Sir  JOHN  EVERETT  MILLAIS,  Bart.     .  .  .  February  1896 — August  1896 

Sir  EDWARD  JOHN  POYNTER,  Bait.  .  .....    1896 

West  resigned  in  1805,  and  James  Wyatt  was  on  December  10  elected  President, 
but  his  election  was  never  approved  by  the  Sovereign,  and  in  the  following  year  West 
was  re-elected. 

Secretaries 

FRANCIS  MILNER  NEWTON   .......    1768—1788 

JOHN  RICHARDS        ........    1788—1810 

HENRY  HOWARD  (Dep.  Sec.  1 8 10)  ......    1811 — 1847 

JOHN  PRESCOTT  KNIGHT  (resigned) .  .....    1847 — 1873 

FREDERICK  ALEXIS  EATON  *.          .          .          .          .          .          .1873 

*  Not  a  member. 


APPENDIX  IV  365 


Keepers 

In  1873  the  term  of  office  for  which  the  Keeper  was  elected  was  limited  to  five  years, 
the  holder  being  eligible  for  re-election  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  Academicians. 

GEORGE  MICHAEL  MOSER    .......  1768 — 1783 

AGOSTINO  CARLINI    ........  1783 — 1790 

JOSEPH  WILTON        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  1790—1803 

HENRY  FUSELI         ........  1804 — 1825 

HENRY  THOMSON  (resigned)  ......  1825 — 1827 

WILLIAM  HILTON      ........  1827—1839 

GEORGE  JONES  (resigned)     .......  1840 — 1850 

CHARLES  LANDSEER  (resigned)        ......  1851 — 1873 

FREDERICK  RICHARD  PICKERSGILL  (resigned)        ....  1873—1887 

PHILIP  HERMOGENES  CALDERON     ......  1887—1898 

ERNEST  CROFTS        ........  1898 

Robert  Smirke  was  elected  Keeper  in  succession  to  Joseph  Wilton,  but  his  election 
was  vetoed  by  King  George  III.,  and  a  fresh  election  was  held,  which  resulted  in  Fuseli 
being  chosen. 

George  Jones  acted  as  Deputy  Keeper  during  the  last  year  of  Hilton's  tenure  of 
the  office. 

Treasurers 

The  appointment  to  the  office  of  Treasurer  originally  rested  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
the  Sovereign.  The  first  innovation  took  place  in  1874,  when  permission  was  obtained 
by  the  General  Assembly  to  choose  by  election,  for  submission  to  the  Sovereign,  the 
member  it  considered  most  suitable.  In  1880  a  further  step  was  taken,  and,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Sovereign,  the  tenure  of  the  office  was  assimilated  to  that  of  the  Keeper- 
ship  and  Librarianship,  viz.,  a  term  of  five  years,  renewable  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  Academicians. 

Sir  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS      .......  i769 — 179& 

JOHN  VENN  (resigned)          .......  1796 — 1820 

Sir  ROBERT  SMIRKE  (resigned)        ......  1820 — 1850 

PHILIP  HARDWICK  (resigned)  ......  1850 — 1861 

SYDNEY  SMIRKE  (resigned)  .  .  .  .  .  •  1861 — 1874 

EDWARD  MIDDLETON  BARRY          ......  1874 — 188° 

GEORGE  EDMUND  STREET    .......  1880 — 1881 

JOHN  CALLCOTT  HORSLEY  (resigned)          .....  1882—1897 

ALFRED  WATERHOUSE  (resigned)    .  .  .  .  •  •  1897—1901 

THOMAS  GRAHAM  JACKSON  .          .          .          •          •          .1901 

Richard  Norman  Shaw  was  elected  Treasurer  in  succession  to  George  Edmund 
Street,  but  he  resigned  the  appointment  within  three  weeks. 


366  APPENDICES 


Librarians 

In  1873  the  term  of  office  for  which  the  Librarian  was  elected  was  limited  to  five 
years,  the  holder  being  eligible  for  re-election  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Academicians. 

FRANCIS  HAYMAN     ........  1770 — 1776 

RICHARD  WILSON      ........  1776—1782 

SAMUEL  WALE          ........  1782 — 1786 

JOSEPH  WILTON  (resigned)   .......  1786 — 1790 

DOMINIC  SERRES       ........  1792—1793 

EDWARD  BURCH        ........  1794 — 1812 

THOMAS  STOTHARD  ........  1814—1834 

GEORGE  JONES  (resigned)       .......  1834—1840 

WILLIAM  COLLINS  (resigned)  ......  1840 — 1842 

Sir  CHARLES  LOCK  EASTLAKE  (resigned)     .....  1842—1844 

THOMAS  UwiNS  (resigned)     .......  1844—1855 

HENRY  WILLIAM  PICKERSGILL  (resigned)    .....  1856 — 1864 

SOLOMON  ALEXANDER  HART  ......  1864 — 1881 

JOHN  EVAN  HODGSON          ........  1882—1895 

WILLIAM  FREDERICK  YEAMES          ......  1896 

G.  M.  Moser  acted  as  Deputy  Librarian  in  1782,  Paul  Sandby  from  1799  to  l8OQi 
J.  F.  Rigaud  in  1810,  and  T.  Stothard  from  1810  to  1814. 

PROFESSORS 

In  1863  the  tenure  of  the  Professorships  of  Painting,  Architecture,  Sculpture,  and 
Anatomy  was  limited  to  five  years,  the  holder  being  in  each  case  eligible  for  re-election. 
The  Professorship  of  Chemistry,  established  in  1871,  was  not  made  subject  to  this  rule 
till  1879.  In  1903  the  tenure  of  the  Professorships  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architec- 
ture was  limited  to  three  years,  with  eligibility  for  re-election. 

In  1886  the  Professorships  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture  were  thrown  open 
to  Associates  as  well  as  Academicians. 

Painting 

EDWARD  PENNY  (resigned)   .......  1768—1782 

JAMES  BARRY  (expelled)        ....  .  .  1782—1799 

HENRY  FUSELI  (resigned)      .......  1799—1805 

JOHN  OPIE     ....  ....  1805—1807 

HENRY  TRESHAM  (resigned)  ......  1807—1809 

HENRY  FUSELI          ......  .  1810 — 1825 

THOMAS  PHILLIPS  (resigned)  ......  1825—1832 

HENRY  HOWARD      ........  1833 — 1847 

CHAS.  ROBT.  LESLIE  (resigned)        ......  1847 — 1852 

SOLOMON  ALEX.  HART  (resigned)     ......  1854 — 1863 

CHARLES  WEST  COPE  (resigned)      ......  1866—1875 


APPENDIX  IV  367 

EDWARD  ARMITAGE  (resigned)         ......  1875—1882 

JOHN  EVAN  HODGSON          .......  1882 — 1895 

Sir  WILLIAM  BLAKE  RICHMOND  (resigned) .....  1895 — 1899 

HUBERT  VON  HERKOMER  (resigned)  .....  1899 — 1900 

VALENTINE  CAMERON  PRINSEP  (resigned)  .....  1900—1903 

GEORGE  CLAUSEN     ........  1903 

Architecture 

THOMAS  SANDBY       ........  1768 — 1798 

GEORGE  DANCE  (resigned)    .......  1798 — 1805 

Sir  JOHN  SOANE        ........  1806 — 1837 

WILLIAM  WILKINS  (delivered  no  lectures)    .....  1837—1839 

CHAS.  ROBT.  COCKERELL  (resigned)  .....  1839—1859 

SYDNEY  SMIRKE  (resigned)  .  .  ,  .  .  .  1860—1865 

Sir  GEORGE  GILBERT  SCOTT  (resigned)       .....  1866 — 1873 

EDWARD  MIDDLETON  BARRY          ......  1873 — 1880 

GEORGE  EDMUND  STREET    .......  1880—1881 

GEORGE  AITCHISON  ........  1887 

During  the  vacancy  in  the  Professorship,  from  1881  to  1887,  lectures  were  delivered 
by  members  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  others. 

Sculpture 

JOHN  FLAXMAN        ........  1810 — 1826 

Sir  RICHARD  WESTMACOTT  .......  1827 — 1856 

RICHARD  WESTMACOTT        .......  1857 — 1868 

HENRY  WEEKES  (resigned)   .......  1868 — 1876 

THOMAS  WOOLNER  (resigned  ;  delivered  no  lectures)          ,  .  .  1877—1878 

ALFRED  GILBERT      ........  1900 

During  the  vacancy  in  the  Professorship,  from  1878  to  1900,  lectures  were  delivered 
by  members  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  others. 

Anatomy 

WILLIAM  HUNTER    .......  .  1768—1783 

JOHN  SHELDON         ........  1783 — 1808 

Sir  ANTHONY  CARLISLE  (resigned)    ......  1808—1824 

JOHN  H.  GREEN  (resigned)   .......  1825 — 1851 

RICHARD  PARTRIDGE  .......  1852—1873 

JOHN  MARSHALL 1873—1890 

WILLIAM  ANDERSON  ........  1891—1900 

ARTHUR  THOMSON    ........  1900 

Chemistry 

FREDERICK  S.  BARFF 1871—1879 

ARTHUR  HERBERT  CHURCH  ......  1879 


368  APPENDICES 

Perspective 

SAMUEL  WALE         ........  1768—1786 

EDWARD  EDWARDS  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  1788—1806 

J.  M.  W.  TURNER  (resigned)  ......  1807 — 1837 

J.  P.  KNIGHT  (resigned)         .......  1839—1860 

On  the  resignation  of  Mr  Knight,  the  Professorship  was  abolished  and  a  Teachership, 
not  limited  to  members  of  the  Academy,  substituted.  This  office  has  been  held  by  the 
following  : — 

HENRY  ALEX.  BOWLER        .......    1861 — 1899 

GEORGE  A.  STOREY  ........    1900 

HONORARY    MEMBERS 

The  first  honorary  office  created  was  that  of  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Correspondence,  in  1769.  In  the  following  year  a  Professor  of  Ancient 
Literature,  a  Professor  of  Ancient  History,  and  an  Antiquary,  were 
appointed  ;  all  the  first  appointments  to  these  four  offices  were  made 
direct  by  the  King.  The  Chaplaincy  was  not  instituted  till  1784,  when 
Mr  Peters  was  requested  to  act  as  Chaplain  at  the  annual  dinner,  and 
was  afterwards  confirmed  "  Chaplain  to  the  Royal  Academy."  The 
subsequent  appointments  to  these  honorary  offices  have  been  made 
generally  on  the  nomination  of  the  President,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Council  and  the  General  Assembly,  and  confirmation  by  the 
Sovereign. 

Chaplains 

Rev.  W.  PETERS,  sometime  R.A.  (resigned) .  ....    1784 — 1788 

Rt.  Rev.  THOS.  BERNARD,  Bishop  of  Killaloe,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Limerick  1791 — 1806 
Rt.  Rev.  JOHN  FISHER,  Bishop  of  Exeter,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Salisbury  .  1807—1826 
Rt.  Rev.  The  Hon.  EDW.  LEGGE,  Bishop  of  Oxford  .  .  .  1826—1827 

Rt.  Rev.  C.  J.  BLOMFIELD,  Bishop  of  Chester,  afterwards  Bishop  of  London  1827—1857 
Rt.  Rev.  SAMUEL  WILBERFORCE,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  afterwards  Bishop  of 

Winchester       ........     1857—1873 

Most  Rev.  WM.  THOMPSON,  Archbishop  of  York     ....    1873—1891 

Most  Rev.  WM.  CONNOR  MAGEE,  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  Archbishop 

Elect  of  York  ........     1891—1891 

Most  Rev.  WM.  DALRYMPLE  MACLAGAN,  Archbishop  of  York       .  .1892 

Secretaries  for  Foreign  Correspondence 

JOSEPH  BARRETTI     ........  1769—1789 

JAMES  BOSWELL        ........  1791 1795 

PRINCE  HOARE         ........  1799—1835 

Sir  GEORGE  STAUNTON,  Bart.          ......  1839—1859 

Sir  HENRY  HOLLAND,  Bart.  .......  1860 1873 


APPENDIX  IV 


369 


Sir  WM.  STIRLING  MAXWELL,  Bart.            .....  1874—1878 

Lord  HOUGHTON       ........  1878 — 1885 

ROBERT  BROWNING  ........  1886 — 1889 

Rt.  Hon.  Sir  HENRY  AUSTIN  LAVARD         .....  1890—1894 

Rt.  Hon.  WM.  E.  H.  LECKY  .......  1895—1903 

LordAvEBURY           ........  1903 

Professors  of  Ancient  Literature 

Dr  SAMUEL  JOHNSON          .......  1770—1787 

BENNET  LANGTON    ........  1787 — 1802 

Dr  CHARLES  BURNEY           .......  1803 — 1817 

Rt.  Rev.  WILLIAM  HOWLEY,  Bishop  of  London,  afterwards  Archbishop  of 

Canterbury       ........  1818—1830 

Rt.  Rev.  EDWARD  COPLESTONE,  Bishop  of  LlandafF           .           .           .  1831—1849 

Lord  MACAULAY        ........  1850 — 1859 

Very  Rev.  HENRY  HART  MILMAN,  Dean  of  St  Paul's         .           .           .  1860 — 1868 

Very  Rev.  ARTHUR  PENRHYN  STANLEY,  Dean  of  Westminster      .           .  i£58 — 1881 

Very  Rev.  HENRY  GEORGE  LIDDELL,  Dean  of  Christ  Church        .           .  1882—1898 

Rt.  Rev.  MANDELL  CREIGHTON,  Bishop  of  London           .           .           .  1898 — 1901 

Rt.  Hon.  JOHN  MORLEY       .......  1903 

Professors  of  Ancient  History 

OLIVER  GOLDSMITH  .          .......  1770—1774 

Rev.  Dr  T.  FRANKLIN          .......  1774—1784 

EDWARD  GIBBON      ........  1787 — 1794 

WILLIAM  MITFORD   ........  1818—1827 

HENRY  HALLAM       ........  1836—1859 

GEORGE  GROTE        ........  1859—1871 

Rt.  Rev.  CONNOP  THIRL  WALL,  Bishop  of  St  David's          .            .            .  1871—1875 

Rt.  Hon.  W.  ErGLADSTONE                 ......  1876—1898 

Sir  RICHARD  C.  JEBB           .......  1898 


Antiquaries 
RICHARD  DALTON    . 
SAMUEL  LYSONS       . 
Sir  HENRY  ENGLEFIELD,  Bart. 
Sir  WALTER  SCOTT,  Bart.     . 
Sir  ROBERT  H.  INGLIS,  Bart. 
Earl  STANHOPE         . 

Sir  PHILIP  DE  M.  GREY  EGERTON,  Bart.     . 
Sir  CHAS.  T.  NEWTON,  K.C.B. 
Sir  AUGUSTUS  WOLLASTON  FRANKS,  K.C.B. 
FRANCIS  CRAMER  PENROSE  . 
Viscount  DILLON       . 


.  1770—1784 

.  1818—1819 

.  1821 — 1826 

.  1827—1832 

.  1850 — 1855 

.  1855—1876 

.  1876—1881 

.  1881 — 1894 

.  1895—1897 

.  1898 — 1903 

.  1903 

2  A 


APPENDIX   V 
LIST  OF   DIPLOMA  WORKS,  1770-1904 

THE  law  requiring  each  Academician  on  his  election  to  deposit  in  the 
Academy  a  specimen  of  his  skill,  to  be  called  his  Diploma  Work,  was 
not  passed  till  October,  1770;  consequently  there  are  no  Diploma 
Works,  properly  so  called,  by  the  thirty-six  original  members  nomi- 
nated by  George  III.  ;  but  the  following  works,  either  given  by  those 
members  themselves,  or  presented  by  others,  are  included  in  the 
collection  : — 


JOSHUA  REYNOLDS  (Sir)  P 

BENJAMIN  WEST            .  P 

PAUL  SANDBY    .          .  P 

FRANCIS  COTES  .          .  P 

JOHN  BAKER      .          .  P 

MASON  CHAMBERLIN     .  P 

THOMAS  GAINSBOROUGH  P 

GIOVANNI  B.  CIPRIANI  .  P 

THOMAS  SANDBY           .  A 

NATHANIEL  HONE         .  P 

NATHANIEL  DANCE       .  P 

RICHARD  WILSON          .  P 

ANGELICA  KAUFFMAN   .  P 


MARY  MOSER     .          .  P 

WILLIAM  CHAMBERS  (Sir)  A 

JOSEPH  WILTON  .  .  S 

DOMINIC  SERRES  .  P 

370 


Portrait  of  Sir  Wm.  Chambers,  R.A. 

Christ  blessing  little  Children. 

Windsor  Castle  (water-colour). 

A  portrait. 

Flower  piece. 

Portrait  of  Wm.  Hunter,  M.D. 

Landscape. 

Drawing  for  the  Diploma. 

Architectural  design. 

Portrait  of  the  Painter. 

Portrait  of  G.  B.  Cipriani,  R  A. 

Portrait  of  the  Painter. 

Four  oval  paintings  representing  Com- 
position, Invention,  Design,  and  Colour- 
ing, originally  executed  for  the  ceiling 
of  the  Council  Room  at  Somerset  House, 
and  now  in  the  ceiling  of  the  Entrance 
Hall  of  the  Academy. 

Two  flower  pieces. 
Design  for  a  Mausoleum. 
Marble  chimney  piece. 
Shipping. 


APPENDIX  V 


371 


The  following  list  of  the  Diploma  Works  is  given  in  the  order  of 
the  election  of  each  Academician  : — 


NAME. 


YEAR. 


DIPLOMA  WORK. 


EDWARD  BURCH  S 

RICHARD  COSWAY        .  .  P 

JOSEPH  NOLLEKENS     .  .  S 

JAMES  BARRY  P 

WILLIAM  PETERS  .  P 

JOHN  BACON  S 

JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY  .  P 

PHILIP  J.  DE  LOUTHERBOURG  P 

EDMUND  GARVEY        .  .  P 

JOHN  FRANCIS  RIGAUD  .  P 

THOMAS  BANKS  S 

JAMES  WYATT      ...  A 

JOSEPH  FARINGTON      .  .  P 

JOHN  OPIE  P 

JAMES  NORTHCOTE       .  .  P 

WILLIAM  HODGES        .  .  P 

JOHN  RUSSELL  .  P 

WILLIAM  HAMILTON    .  .  P 

HENRY  FUSELI  P 

JOHN  VENN  ....  A 

JOHN  WEBBER  .  P 

FRANCIS  WHEATLEY    .  .  P 

OZIAS  HUMPHREY        .  .  P 

ROBERT  SMIRKE  .  P 

FRANCIS  BOURGEOIS  (Sir)  .  P 

THOMAS  STOTHARD     .  .  P 

THOMAS  LAWRENCE  (Sir)  .  P 

RICHARD  WESTALL      .  .  P 

JOHN  HOPPNER  .  P 

SAWREY  GILPIN  .  P 

WILLIAM  BEECHEY  (Sir)  .  P 

HENRY  TRESHAM  P 

THOMAS  DANIELL        .  .  P 

MARTIN  ARCHER  SHEE  (Sir)  P 

JOHN  FLAXMAN  .  S 

J.  M.W.TURNER        .  .  P 

JOHN  SOANE  (Sir)        .  .  A 

JN.  CHAS.  FELIX  Rossi  .  S 


1771 
1771 
1772 

1773 
1777 
1778 
1779 
1781 
1783 
1784 

1785 
1785 
1785 
1787 
1787 
1787 
1788 
1789 
1790 
1791 
1791 
1791 
1791 
1793 
1793 
1794 
1794 
1794 
1795 
1797 
1798 
1799 
1799 

1800 
1800 
1802 
1802 
1802 


Gem  and  Cast. 

Venus  and  Cupid. 

Cupid  and  Psyche. 

Medea  making  her  Incantation.* 

Children. 

Sickness — marble  head. 

The  Tribute  Money. 

A  Landscape. 

A  Landscape. 

Samson  and  Delilah. 

The  Falling  Titan — marble  statue. 

Design  for  a  Mausoleum. 

A  Coast  Scene. 

Age  and  Infancy. 

Jael  and  Sisera. 

View  of  the  Ghauts  at  Benares. 

Naomi  and  Ruth. 

Vertumnus  and  Pomona. 

Thor  battering  the  Serpent  of  Midgard. 

An  Architectural  Elevation. 

A  Scene  in  Otaheite. 

A  Peasant  Boy. 

A  Fortune  Teller,  f 

Don  Quixote  and  Sancho  Panza. 

A  Landscape. 

Charity. 

A  Gipsy  Girl. 

A  Peasant  Boy. 

Portrait  of  the  Painter. 

Horses  in  a  Storm. 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George  IV. 

The  Death  of  Virginia. 

Hindoo    Temple   at   Bindrabund,   on  the 
Jumna. 

Belisarius. 

Apollo  and  Marpessa — marble  low  relief. 
Dolbaddern  Castle,  North  Wales. 
Design  for  a  new  House  of  Lords. 
George  Dance,  R.A. — marble  bust. 


Returned  to  the  p&inter  when  he  was  expelled. 


t  Missing. 


372 


APPENDICES 


NAME. 


YEAR. 


DIPLOMA  WOBK. 


HENRY  THOMSON        .  .  P 

WILLIAM  OWEN  .  P 

SAMUEL  WOODFORDE  .  .  P 

HENRY  HOWARD  P 

THOMAS  PHILLIPS       .  .  P 

NATHANIEL  MARCHANT  .  S 

AUGUSTUS  W.  CALLCOTT  (Sir)  P 

DAVID  WILKIE  (Sir)     .  .  P 

JAMES  WARD  P 

RICHARD  WESTMACOTT  (Sir)  S 

ROBERT  SMIRKE,  jun.  (Sir)  .  A 

HENRY  BONE  P 

PHILIP  REINAGLH        .  .  P 

WILLIAM  THEED  .  S 

GEORGE  DAWE  .  P 

WILLIAM  REDMORE  BIGG  .  P 

HENRY  RAEBURN  (Sir)  .  P 

EDWARD  BIRD  .  P 

WILLIAM  MULREADY   .  .  P 

ALFRED  E.  CHALON      .  .  P 

JOHN  JACKSON  P 

FRANCIS  CHANTREY  (Sir)  .  S 

WILLIAM  HILTON        .  .  P 

ABRAHAM  COOPER       .  .  P 

WILLIAM  COLLINS       .  .  P 

EDWARD  HODGES  BAILY  .  S 

RICHARD  COOK  P 

WILLIAM  DANIELL       .  .  P 

RAMSAY  RICHD.  REINAGLE  .  P 

JEFFRY  WYATV  ILLE  (Sir)  .  A 


GEORGE  JONES     . 
WILLIAM  WILKINS 


CHARLES  ROBERT  LESLIE  .  P 
HENRY  WILLIAM  PICKERSGILL  P 
WILLIAM  ETTY  P 


1804 
1806 
1807 

1808 

1808 
1809 
1810 
1811 
1811 
1811 
1811 
1811 
1812 
1813 
1814 
1814 
1815 
1815 

1816 
1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 
1820 

1820 
1821 
1822 

1822 
1823 
1824 

1824 
1826 

1826 
1826 
1828 


Prospero  and  Miranda. 
Boy  and  Kitten. 

Dorinda  wounded   by   Silvio     (From    "  II 
Pastor  Fido.") 

The  Four  Angels  released  from  the  River 
Euphrates  (Rev.  ix.  15). 

Venus  and  Adonis. 

Gem  and  Cast. 

Morning. 

Boys  digging  for  a  Rat. 

A  Bacchanalian. 

Jupiter  and  Ganymede — marble  high  relief. 

Restoration  of  the  Acropolis,  Athens. 

Venus  and  Cupid. 

Eagle  and  Vulture  disputing  with  a  Hyaenn. 

A  Bacchanalian  Group — bronze.* 

The  Demoniac. 

Cottagers. 

Boy  and  Rabbit. 

Proclaiming  Joash  King  (2   Chron.  xxiii. 
ii). 

The  Village  Buffoon. 

Tuning.! 

A  Jewish  Rabbi. 

Benjamin  West,  P.R.A. — marble  bust. 

The  Rape  of  Ganymede. 

Sir  Trevisan  fleeing  from  Despair.    (From 
Spenser's  "  Faerie  Queen.") 

Young  Anglers. 

John  Flaxman,  R.A. — marble  bust. 

Ceres  refusing  to  be  Consoled  by  Iris  for 
the  Loss  of  Proserpine. 

View  on  the  Coast  of  Scotland. 
Landscape  and  Cattle. 

Design  for  a  Mansion  for  the  first  Earl  of 
Yarborough. 

Malines.J 

Gateway  and  Cloisters  of  King's  College 
Chapel,  Cambridge. 

Katherine  of  Aragon. 
The  Oriental  Love  Letter. 
Sleeping  Nymph  and  Satyr. 


*  Missing.  f  Missing ;  supposed  to  have  been  stolen. 

J  Substituted  in  1874  for  the  original  Diploma  Work,  »  The  Tale  of  Interest." 


APPENDIX  V 


373 


NAME. 


i  JOHN  CONSTABLE  . 

CHAS.  LOCK  EASTLAKE  (Sir) 
i  EDWIN  H.  LANDSEER  (Sir)  . 
I  HY.  PERRONET  BRIGGS 

GILBERT  STUART  NEWTON  . 

WM.  CLARKSON  STANFIELD 

WILLIAM  ALLAN  (Sir)  . 

CHARLES  ROBT.  COCKERELL 
'  JOHN  GIBSON 
!  THOMAS  UWINS    . 
:  FREDERICK  RICHD.  LEE 
!  WILLIAM  WYON    . 


YEAR. 


1829 
1830 
1831 
1832 
1832 
1835 
1835 
1836 
1836 


P      1838 
P      1838 

S  I  1838 


JOHN  PETER  DEERING(GANDY)  A 

DANIEL  MACLISE                 .  P 

WM.  FREDK.  WITHERINGTON  P 

SOLOMON  ALEXANDER  HART  P 

JOHN  JAS.  CHALON       .       .  P 

PHILIP  HARDWICK       .       .  A 

DAVID  ROBERTS  P 

CHARLES  BARRY  (Sir)  .       .  A 

;  WM.  CHAS.  Ross  (Sir)  .        .  P 

JOHN  PRESCOTT  KNIGHT     .  P 

CHARLES  LANDSEER     .       .  P 

•  THOMAS  WEBSTER       .       .  P 
PATRICK  M  'Do WELL    .       .  S 
JOHN  ROGERS  HERBERT      .  P 
CHARLES  WEST  COPE  .       .  P 
WILLIAM  DYCE                    .  P 

•  RICHARD  WESTMACOTT       .  S 
JOHN  WATSON  GORDON  (Sir)  P 
THOMAS  CRESWICK      .       .  P 
RICHARD  REDGRAVE   .       .  P 
FRANCIS  GRANT  (Sir)  .       .  P 
WILLIAM  CALDER  MARSHALL  S 
WILLIAM  POWELL  FRITH     .  P 
SAMUEL  COUSINS  .  E 


1838 
1840 
1840 
1840 
1841 
1841 
1841 
1842 

1843 
1844 


1846 
1846 
1846 
1848 
1848 
1849 
1851 
1851 
1851 
1851 
1852 
1853 
'855 


EDWARD  MATTHEW  WARD  .     P     1855 

I 
ALFRED  ELMORE  .       .  P  :  1856 


DIPLOMA  WORK. 


Landscape. 

Hagar  and  Ishmael. 

The  Faithful  Hound. 

Colonel  Blood  stealing  the  Crown  Jewels. 

Abelard. 

On  the  Scheldt. 

The  Shepherd's  Grace. 

Design  for  Houses  of  Parliament. 

Narcissus — marble  statue. 

An  Italian  Mother. 

Morning  in  the  Meadows. 

(Frame  containing)  Designs  for  a  Botanical 
Medal,  and  an  Anatomical  Medal. 

Design  for  Exeter  Hall. 

The  Woodranger. 

Landscape  and  Figures. 

An  Early  Reading  of  Shakespeare. 

A  Gipsy  Encampment. 

Entrance  Gate  to  Euston  Square  Station. 

Baalbrc. 

The  Travellers'  Club,  South  Front. 

The  Pilgrim. 

The  Parting  Blessing. 

The  Dying  Warrior. 

The  Early  Lesson. 

A  Nymph — marble  statuette. 

St  Gregory  teaching  his  Chant. 

A  Night  Alarm. 

A  Magdalen. 

"  Go  and  sin  no  more  " — marble  low  relief. 

Scene  from  Burns'  "  Auld  Lang  Syne." 

Landscape. 

The  Outcast. 

Portrait  of  Miss  Grant. 

Infant  Satyr — marble  statuette. 

The  Village  Model. 

The  Queen  receiving  the  Sacrament  at  her 
Coronation— after  C.  R.  Leslie,  R.A. 

Queen  Elizabeth  Woodvillein  the  Sanctuary 
at  Westminster. 


A  Scene  from 
Verona." 


The  Two  Gentlemen  of 


374 


APPENDICES 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

DIPLOMA  WORK. 

FREDK.  RICHD.  PICKERSGILL     P 

1857 

The  Bribe. 

GEORGE  FREDK.  Doo  .       .     E 

1857 

The  Raising  of  Lazarus  —  after  Sebastian 

del  Piombo. 

JOHN  HENRY  FOLEY    .       .     S 

1858 

The  Younger  Brother  —  marble  statuette. 

JOHN  PHILLIP                     .     P 

1859 

Prayer. 

SYDNEY  SMIRKE   ...     A 

1859 

The  Carlton  Club. 

JAMES  CLARKE  HOOK  .       .     P 

i860 

Gathering  Limpets.* 

AUGUSTUS  LEOPOLD  EGG     .     P 

i860 

Cromwell  the  night  before  the  Battle  of 

Naseby. 

GEORGE  GILBERT  SCOTT      .     A 

i860 

Design  for  Government  Offices. 

PAUL  FALCONER  POOLE       .     P 

1861 

Remorse. 

HENRY  WEEKES                  .     S 

1863 

Joseph  Henry  Green  —  marble  bust. 

WILLIAM  BOXALL  (Sir)        .     P 

1863 

Portrait  of  John  Gibson,  R.A. 

FREDERICK  GOODALL  .        .     P 

1863 

The  Song  of  the  Nubian  Slave. 

JOHN  EVERETT  MILLAIS  (Sir, 

Bart.)  P 

1863 

A  Souvenir  of  Velasquez. 

EDWARD  WM.  COOKE  .       .     P 

1863 

Dutch  "  Pinks  "  running  to  anchor  off  Yar- 

mouth. 

JOHN  CALCOTT  HORSLEY     .     P 

1864 

A  Pleasant  Corner. 

THOMAS  FALD  .    .       .       .     P 

1864 

"  Ere  care  begins." 

JOHN  FREDK.  LEWIS    .       .     P 

1865 

The  Door  of  a  Cafe  in  Cairo. 

GEORGE  RICHMOND     .       .     P 

1866 

Portrait  of  Samuel  Wilberforce,  Bishop  of 

Oxford. 

CARLO  MAROCHETTI  (Baron)     S 

1866 

Sir  E.  Landseer,  R.A.—  marble  bust. 

THOMAS  SIDNEY  COOPER     .     P 

1867 

Milking  Time  in  the  Meadows. 

PHILIP  H.  CALDERON  .       .     P 

1867 

Whither? 

JOHN  HY.  ROBINSON    .       .     E 

1867 

Napoleon  and  Pius  VII.  —  after  Sir  David 

Wilkie,  R.A. 

GEORGE  FREDK.  WATTS      .     P 

1867 

"  My  punishment   is  greater   than   I    can 

bear." 

FRED.  LEIGHTON  (Sir,  Bart., 

and  Baron)                                P 

1868 

St  Jerome. 

EDWD.  MIDDLETON  BARRY  .     A 

1869 

Design  for  Government  Offices. 

JAMES  SANT                        .     P 

1869 

The  Schoolmaster's  Daughter. 

HY.  TANWORTH  WELLS       .     P 

1870 

Volunteers  at  the  Firing-point,  i866.t 

RICHARD  ANSDELL       .       .     P 

1870 

The  Chase. 

WM.  EDWARD  FROST    .       .     P 

1870 

Nymph  and  Cupid. 

GEO.  EDMUND  STREET        .     A 

1871 

Design    for  the    New  Courts  of  Justice, 

Pnncipal  Entrance,  South  Front. 

WM.  CHAS.  THOS.  DOBSON  .     P 

1871 

St  Paul  at  Philippi. 

LUMB  STOCKS       .       .       .     E 

1871 

Claude  Duval—  after  W.  P.  Frith,  R.A. 

*  Substituted  in  1886  for  the  original  Diploma  Work,  "  A  Narrow  Lane." 

t  Substituted  in  1882  for  the  original  Diploma  Work,  "  Letters  and  News  from  th«  Loch  S1d«." 


APPENDIX  V 


375 


NAME. 


YEAR. 


DIPLOMA  WORK. 


EDWARD  ARMITAGE     .       .     P 
JOHN  PETTIE  P 

THOMAS  WOOLNER      .       .     S 

EDWD.  JOHN  PoYNTER(Sir, 
Bart.)  .      P 

JOHN  GILBERT  (Sir)     .       .  P 

GEO.  DL  NLOF  LESLIE  .       .  P 

HY.  WM.  BANKS  DAVIS       •  P 

WM.  QUILLER  ORCHARDSON  P 

RICHD.  NORMAN  SHAW       .  A 

WM.  FREDK.  YEAMES   .       .  P 

HY.  STACY  MARKS  .  .  P 
LAWRENCE  ALMA  TADEMA  (Sir)  P 
JOHN  EVAN  HODGSON  . 
HY.  HUGH  ARMSTEAD 
VICAT  COLE 

JOHN  LOUGHEOROUGH  PEAR- 
SON     

WALTER  WM.  OULESS  . 
BRITON  RIVIERE  . 
THOS.  OLDHAM  BARLOW 


EDWIN  LONG 
PETER  GRAHAM  . 

JOSEPH  EDGAR  BOEHM  (Sir, 
Bart.) 

FRANK  HOLL 
ALFRED  WATERHOUSE 
MARCUS  STONE    . 
S.  LUKE  FILDES   . 
WM.  HAMO  THORNYCROFT  . 
JOHN  BAGNOLD  BURGESS     . 
HUBERT  v.  HERKOMER 
THOMAS  BROCK    . 
ANDREW  CARRICK  Gow 
FRANK  DICKSEE  . 
ALFRED  GILBERT  . 


JOHN  M'WHIRTER       .       .     P 
HENRY  WOODS  .     P 

HENRY  MOORE  .     P 

VALENTINE  CAMERON  PRINSEP  P 


1872 

i873 
1874 

1876 
1876 
1876 
1877 

1877 
1877 
1878 
1878 
1879 
1879 
1879 
1880 

1880 
1881 

1881 
1881 

1881 
1881 

1882 
1883 
1885 
1887 
1887 
1888 
1888 
1890 
1891 
1891 
1891 
1892 

1893 
1893 
1893 
1894 


The  Festival  of  Esther. 
"Jacobites,  1745." 

Achilles    and    Pallas    shouting  from    the 
Trenches — marble  low  relief. 

The  Fortune-Teller. 

Convocation  of  Clergy. 

The  Lass  of  Richmond  Hill. 

A  Midsummer  Night. 

On  the  North  Foreland. 

View  of  Adcote,  Shropshire. 

"  La  Bigolante  "  (a  Venetian  water  carrier). 

Science  is  Measurement. 

The  Road  to  the  Temple. 

A  Shipwrecked  Sailor  waiting  for  a  Sail. 

The  Ever-reigning  Queen — marble  bas-relief 

Autumn  Morning. 

Truro  Cathedral. 

Portrait  of  J.  E.  Hodgson,  R.A. 

The  King  Drinks. 

Rt.   Hon.  W.   E.  Gladstone— after  J.   E. 
Millais,  R.A. 

N  ouzhatoul-Soudat. 
Homewards. 

Sir  J.  E.  Millais,  Bart.,  P.R.A.— bronze  bust. 

Portrait  of  Sir  J.  E.  Millais,  Bart.,  P.R.A. 

Manchester  Town  Hall. 

Good  Friends. 

A  Schoolgirl. 

The  Mirror. 

The  Freedom  of  the  Press. 

On  Strike. 

Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A. — bronze  bust. 

A  Mountain  Pass. 

Startled. 

(None  yet  delivered.    A  silver  statuette  of 
"  Victory  "  held  on  deposit.) 

Nature's  Archway. 

In  Campo  SS.  Giotanni  e  Paolo,  Venice. 

Summer  Breeze  in  the  Channel. 

La  Revolution. 


376 


APPENDICES 


NAMK. 


JOHN  WM.  WATERHOUSE     .  P 

EDWARD  ONSLOW  FORD      .  S 

WM.  BLAKE  RICHMOND  (Sir)  P 

GEO.  HENRY  BOUGHTON     .  P 

ERNEST  CROFTS                  .  P 

THOS.  GRAHAM  JACKSON     .  A 

JOHN  SINGER  SARGENT       .  P 

EDWARD  JOHN  GREGORY     .  P 

GEORGE  AITCHISON      .       .  A 

BENJAMIN  WILLIAMS  LEADER  P 

JOHN  SEYMOUR  LUCAS        .  P 

EDWARD  AUSTIN  ABBEY      .  P 

GEO.  FREDK.  BODLEY  .       .  A 

GEO.  JAS.  FRAMPTON  .        .  S 

ERNEST  ALBERT  WATERLOW 

(Sir) P 

ROBERT  WALKER  MACBETH  P 

ASTON  WEBB  A 


YEAR. 


1895 
1895 
1895 
1896 
1896 

1896 
1897 
1898 
1898 
1898 
1898 
1898 
1902 
1902 

1903 
1903 
1903 


DIPLOMA  WORK. 


A  Mermaid. 

Sir  L.  Alma  Tadema,  R.A. — bronze  bust. 

Orpheus  returning  from  the  Shades. 

Memories. 

To  the  Rescue — an  Episode  of  the  Civil 
Wars. 

The  New  Schools,  Oxford  University. 

An  Interior  in  Venice. 

Apres  ? 

The  Royal  Exchange  Assurance,  Pall  Mall. 

The  Sand  Pit,  Burrow's  Cross. 

News  from  the  Front. 

A  Lute  Player. 

St  Mary's,  Clumber. 

The  Marchioness  of  Granby — marble  bust. 

The  Banks  of  the  Loing. 
The  Lass  that  a  Sailor  Loves. 

Proposed  Architectural  Treatment  of  the 
Surroundings  to  the  National  Memorial 
to  Queen  Victoria  in  Front  of  Bucking- 
ham Palace. 


APPENDIX    VI 

PICTURES  AND  STATUARY  OTHER  THAN  DIPLOMA 
WORKS,  AND  VARIOUS  OBJECTS  OF  INTEREST 
BELONGING  TO  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY 

IN  the  Gibson  and  Diploma  Galleries,  which  were  added  by  the 
Academy  to  old  Burlington  House,  there  are,  besides  the  Diploma 
Works  and  "the  Gibson  Statuary,  a  number  of  pictures  and  other 
works  of  Art  which  have  been  presented  or  purchased  at  different 
times  ;  while  the  Council  Room,  General  Assembly  Room,  and  other 
private  rooms  of  the  Academy  also  contain  many  pictures  and  objects 
of  interest.  The  following  are  among  the  most  important : — 

PICTURES,  DRAWINGS,  ETC. 

PORTRAITS 
TITLB.  AETIST. 

H.M.  George  III Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P. R. A. 

H.M.  Queen  Charlotte Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.  R. A. 

H.M.  George  IV Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee,  P.R.A. 

H.M.  William  IV Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee,  P.R.A. 

H.M.  Queen  Victoria Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee,  P.R.A. 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

Benjamin  West,  P.R.A Benjamin  West,  P.R.A. 

Benjamin  West,  P.R.A,  Water-colour  Copy  of 
the  Portrait  in  the  National  Gallery,  by  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A George  Thomas  Doo,  R.A. 

Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A. 

Sir  Charles  Lock  Eastlake,  P.R.A.        .         .        .  John  Prescott  Knight,  R.A. 

Sir  Francis  Grant,  P.R.A Sir  Francis  Grant,  P.R.A. 

Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A George  Frederick  Watts,  R.A. 

Sir  William  Allan,  R.A Sir  John  Watson  Gordon,  R.A. 

Edward  Armitage,  R.A Walter  William  Ouless,  R.A. 

377 


378  APPENDICES 

PICTURES,  DRAWINGS,  ETC.— PORTRAITS— Continued. 

TITLB.  ARTIST. 

Edward  Hodges  Baily,  R.A.          ....  John  Mogford. 

Sir  William  Beechey,  R.A. Sir  William  Beechey,  R.A. 

James  Bonomi,  A. John  Francis  Rigaud,  R.A. 

Sir  William  Boxall,  R.A Anna  Lea  Merritt. 

Sir  Augustus  Wall  Callcott,  R.A.          .        .        .  William  Owen,  R.A. 

Sir  Francis  Chantrey,  R.A Thomas  Ellerby. 

William  Collins,  R.A. Margaret  Sarah  Carpenter. 

John  Constable,  R.A. Charles  Robert  Leslie,  R.A. 

Thomas  Creswick,  R.A Thomas  Creswick,  R.A. 

Thomas  Daniell,  R.A.,  and  William  Daniell,  R.A. 

Miniatures Sir  William  Newton. 

William  Daniell,  R.A.,  and  Mrs  Daniell.  Drawings  Richard  Westall,  R.A. 

Augustus  Leopold  Egg,  R.A John  Phillip,  R.A. 

William  Edward  Frost,  R.A.     Miniature      .         .  William  Upton. 

Thomas  Gainsborough,  R.A.         ....  Thomas  Gainsborough,  R.A. 

John  Gibson,  R.A Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  R.A. 

J  ohn  Callcott  Horsley,  R.A Walter  C.  Horsley. 

Francis  Hayman,  R.A Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P. R.A. 

Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  R.A Sir  Francis  Grant,  P.  R.A. 

Henry  Stacy  Marks,  R.A Walter  William  Ouless,  R.A. 

John  Hamilton  Mortimer,  R.A Richard  Wilson,  R.A. 

William  Mulready,  R.A.     Water-colour        .         .  William  Mulready,  R.A. 

James  Northcote,  R.A. James  Northcote,  R.A. 

James  Northcote,  R.A.     Chalk     ....  Prince  Hoare. 

John  Opie,  R.A John  Opie,  R.A. 

John  Opie,  R.A Prince  Hoare. 

William  Owen,  R.A William  Owen,  R.A. 

Thomas  Phillips,  R.A Thomas  Phillips,  R.A. 

Briton  Riviere,  R.A Hubert  von  Herkomer,  R.A. 

David  Roberts,  R.A Sir  Daniel  Macnee,  P.R.S.A. 

John  Henry  Robinson,  R.A.          ....  John  Prescott  Knight,  R.A. 

Sir  George  Gilbert  Scott,  R.A George  Richmond,  R.A. 

Robert  Smirke,  R.A 

Henry  Thomson,  R.A. Sir  Martin  Arthur  Shee,  P.R.A. 

Study  for  a  Portrait  of  Edward  Matthew  Ward, 

R.A. Thomas  Brigstocke. 

James  Ward,  R.A.     Pencil  Drawing     .         .         .  John  Jackson,  R.A. 

Richard  Westall,  R.A Richard  Westall,  R.A. 

Joseph  Wilton,  R.A.,  John  Hamilton  Mortimer, 

A.,  etc.     Group John  Hamilton  Mortimer,  A. 

Samuel  Woodforde,  R.A Samuel  Woodforde,  R.A. 

James  Wyatt,  R.A. Sir  William  Beechey,  R.A. 


APPENDIX  VI  379 

PICTURES,  DRAWINGS,  ETC.— PORTRAITS— Continued. 
TITLB.  ARTIST. 

John  Venn,  R.A Unknown. 

Fifty-three  Portraits  of  Academicians.      Pencil, 

washed  with  Colour George  Dance,  R.A. 

Surgeon  Bromfield.     Pastel Francis  Cotes,  R.A. 

Prince  Hoare Prince   Hoare   (finished    by  Gains- 
borough). 

Guiseppe  Marchi Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

J.     L.    Meissonier,     H.R.F.A.      Etching     after 

Meissonier C.  Waltner. 

Very  Rev.  Dean  Milman George  Frederick  Watts,  R.A. 

Thomas  Vaughan,  forty-five  years  Clerk  to  the 

Royal  Academy John  Prescott  Knight,  R.A. 

GENERAL 

Leda  and  the  Swan.    Cartoon       ....  Michael  Angelo. 

The  Holy  Family.     Cartoon         ....  Leonardo  da  Vinci. 

Copy  of  "The  Last  Supper,"  by  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  formerly  in  the  Convent  of  the  Car- 
thusians at  Pavia Marco  d'Oggione. 

Temperance Giorgione. 

Landscape Pietro  Francesco  Mola. 

Copies  of  Raphael's  Cartoons,  made  for  the  Duke 

of  Bedford Sir  James  Thornhill. 

Seventeen  Copies  of  Frescoes,  by  Raphael,  in  the 

"  Stanze  "  Apartments  of  the  Vatican        .         .  Guiseppe  Cades. 

The    Life    School    in    Hogarth's    Academy,    St 

Martin's  Lane William  Hogarth. 

The  Life  School  in  St  Martin's  Lane   .        .        .  Unknown. 

Lead  Pencil  Study  for  a  Portion  of  his  Picture  of 
the  Life  School  of  the  Royal  Academy,  in 

H.M.'s  possession  at  Windsor  Castle         .        .  Johan  Zoffany,  R.A. 

The    Antique    Room    of   the    Royal   Academy, 

Somerset  House Johan  Zoffany,  R.A. 

Plngraving  of  Ramberg's  Drawing  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion of  the  Royal  Academy,  1787  .  .  .  P.Martini. 

The  Royal  Academy  in  General  Assembly,  under 

the  Presidency  of  Benjamin  West,  P.R.A  .        .  Henry  Singleton. 

The   Council   of  the   Royal   Academy   Selecting 

Pictures  for  the  Exhibition        ....  Charles  West  Cope,  R.A. 

Theory .  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

Satan  calling  the  Legions Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A. 

The  Crown  of  Thorns William  Hilton,  R.A. 

Cottage  Girl  and  Child William  Owen,  R.A. 

Durham.     Water-colour J.  M.  W.  Turner,  R.A. 

Dedham  Lock,  or  the  Jumping  Horse  .         .        .  John  Constable,  R.A. 

Sixteen  Landscape  Studies  in  Oils        .         .        .  John  Constable,  R.A. 


380  APPENDICES 

PICTURES,  DRAWINGS,  ETC.— GENERAL— Continued. 

TITLE.  ARTIST. 

Two  Original  Designs  for  the  Turner  Gold  Medal     Daniel  Maclise,  R.A. 

Original  Cartoon  for  the  Painting  in  the  Houses 
of  Parliament — "  The  Meeting  of  Wellington 
and  Blucher  after  the  Battle  of  Waterloo  "  .  Daniel  Maclise,  R.A. 

Succouring  the  Wounded Paul  Falconer  Poole,  R.A. 

The  Death  of  Cain George  Frederick  Watts,  R.A. 

Sixty-six     Compositions     from     the     Iliad    and 

Odyssey.     Pen  and  Ink John  Flaxman,  R.A. 

Twenty-seven  Compositions  from  the  Tragedies 
of  ./Eschylus.  Pen  and  Ink  ....  John  Flaxman,  R.A. 

In  the  Schools  are  a  number  of  Life  Studies  by  William  Mulready,  R.A.,  William 
Etty,  R.A.,  Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A.,  and  others  ;  also  numerous  drawings  and  copies  of 
pictures  by  various  artists. 

SCULPTURE 

PORTRAITS 

TITLE.  ARTIST. 

H.M.  George  III.     Bust,  marble  ....     Agostino  Carlini,  R.A. 
H.M.  George  IV.     Bust,  marble  .         .         .         .Sir  Francis  Chantrey,  R.A. 
H.M.  William  IV.     Bust,  marble         .         .         .     Sir  Francis  Chantrey,  R.A. 

H.M.  Queen  Victoria.     Bust,  marble    .        .        .     H.R.H.  Princess  Louise,  Duchess  of 

Argyll. 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A.     Bust,  marble  .  Cirachi,  of  Rome. 

Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A.    Medallion,  bronze  Edward  Hodges  Baily,  R.A. 

Sir  Francis  Grant,  P.R.A.     Bust,  marble      .  .  Mary  Grant. 

Sir  J.  E.  Millais,  Bart.,  P.R.A.     Bust,  bronze  .  E.  Onslow  Ford,  R.A. 

Edward  Armitage,  R.A.     Bust,  terra-cotta    .  .  Sir  J.  E.  Boehm,  Bart.,  R.A. 

Edward  M.  Barry,  R.A.     Bust,  marble         .  .  Thomas  Woolner,  R.A. 

Henry  Bone,  R.A.     Bust,  marble          .        .  .  Sir  Francis  Chantrey,  R.A. 

Sir  Francis  Chantrey,  R.A.     Bust,  marble    .  .  W.  Smith. 

John  Constable,  R.A,     Bust,  marble    .        .  .  Edward  Davis. 

William  Dyce,  R.A.     Bust,  marble       .        .  .  Unknown. 

John  Gibson,  R.A.     Bust,  marble         .         .  .  J.  Adams  Acton. 

George  Jones,  R.A.     Bust,  marble        .        .  .  Henry  Weekes,  R.A. 

John  Prescott  Knight,  R.A.     Medallion       .  .  J.  Gille. 

Patrick  Macdowell,  R.A.     Bust,  marble        .  .  Wm.  Fredk.  Woodington,  A. 

Daniel  Maclise,  R.A Edward  Davis. 

Thomas  Stothard,  R.A.     Bust,  marble          .  .  Edward  Hodges  Baily,  R.A. 

Henry  Weekes,  R.A.     Bust,  marble     .        .  .  Charles  Summers. 

GENERAL 
Virgin  and  Child  and  St  John.     Relief,  marble    .     Michael  Angelo. 

Model  for  the  Lions  in  Trafalgar  Square  (Nelson 
Monument).     Plaster Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  R.A. 


APPENDIX  VI  381 

SCULPTURE— GENERAL—  Continued. 
TITLE.  ARTIST. 

The  Sluggard.    Statue,  plaster     ....     Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A. 

An  Athlete  struggling  with  a  Python.     Group, 

plaster Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A. 

Shielding  the  Helpless.     Group,  marble       .        .     Edwd.  Bowring  Stephens,  A. 
Nine   Sketch   Models  for    his   Statues    and  the 

Figures  in  some  of  his  Pictures  (the  original 

plaster  casts,  and  the  same  in  bronze)        .         .     Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A. 

In  the  Schools  are  numerous  casts  of  antique  statuary,  and  also  a  large  collection  of 
architectural  casts. 

The  Schools  also  contain  a  very  complete  anatomical  collection  for  the  use  of  the 

students. 


MISCELLANEOUS 

The  Sitter's  Chair  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

Four  Palettes  and  an  Easel  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

Two  Frames  of  Experiments  in  Oil  Colours  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

A  Tea  Caddy  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

Twenty-seven  Note-books  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

The  Diploma  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

The  Sitter's  Chair  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A. 

Two  Palettes  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  P.R.A. 

Palette  and  Mahl  Stick  of  William  Hogarth. 

Pointing  Instrument  of  John  Flaxman,  R.A. 

Palette,  and  Marble  Slab  and  Muhler  used  by  him  to  grind  Colours  on,  of  John 
Constable,  R.A. 

Palette  of  Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  R.A. 

Palette  of  John  Phillip,  R.A. 

Palette  and  Brushes,  and  Mahl  Stick  of  Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A. 

Palette  and  Brushes  of  Sir  J.  E.  Millais,  Bart.,  P.R.A. 

Pocket  Palette  of  George  Morland. 

Graver  of  Thomas  Bewick. 

An  Hour  Glass,  formerly  used  in  the  Schools  to  time  the  model. 

A  Collection  of  Medals. 

Five  volumes  of  Sketches,  and  fifteen  volumes  of  woodcuts  from  his  drawings,  by  Sir 
John  Gilbert,  R.A. 

Twelve  letters  from  Thomas  Gainsborough,  R.A.,  to  Jackson  the  musician,  and  one 
from  him,  when  dying,  to  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  P.R.A. 

Sketch-books  and  Sketches  of  Reynolds,  West,  Leighton,  and  many  others. 

The  Academy  also  possesses  a  fine  collection  of  silver  plate,  it  having  been  the 
custom  from  the  foundation  for  each  Academician  to  present  some  article  on  his  election. 


382  APPENDICES 

THE  GIBSON   GALLERY 

contains  the  works  in  marble  and  plaster  which  were  in  the  studio  of 
John  Gibson,  R.A.,  at  Rome,  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  bequeathed 
them  to  the  Royal  Academy,  together  with  a  sum  of  money,  a  portion 
of  which  was  to  be  used  for  the  erection  of  a  gallery  for  their  perma- 
nent housing  and  exhibition.  They  consist  of  eighty-two  groups, 
statues,  and  reliefs.  Among  them  is  a  replica  of  the  tinted  Venus, 
which  excited  much  interest  in  the  International  Exhibition  of  1851. 


THE   LIBRARY 

contains  nearly  10,000  volumes  of  works  dealing  with  the  literature  of 
the  Fine  Arts  in  all  its  branches.  There  is  also  a  very  valuable  col- 
lection of  engravings  and  autotype  reproductions  of  the  contents  of  the 
chief  European  galleries.  A  catalogue  was  published  in  1877,  and  a 
supplementary  one  in  1901.  The  bulk  of  the  Library  is  arranged  in 
what  was  the  ballroom  of  old  Burlington  House.  Though  primarily 
intended  for  the  members  and  students  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
admission  to  it  can  always  be  obtained  by  artists  and  others  on  appli- 
cation to  any  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  Institution. 


APPENDIX   VII 


LIST  OF  STUDENTS  WHO   HAVE  OBTAINED   GOLD 
MEDALS  AND   TRAVELLING   STUDENTSHIPS,    1769-1904 

VARIOUS  changes  have  from  time  to  time  been  made  in  the  regulations 
affecting  these  Prizes.  The  only  ones  that  need  be  noted  here  are 
those  made  in  1871  as  regards  Architecture,  and  in  1879  as  regards 
Painting  and  Sculpture.  The  Travelling  Studentships  and  Gold 
Medals,  which  had,  up  to  those  dates,  been  distinct  Prizes — only  those 
who  had  gained  the  latter  being  eligible  for  the  former — were 
amalgamated,  and  the  same  competition  carried  both  Prizes ;  a 
further  result  being  that  a  Travelling  Studentship  in  all  three  branches 
is  now  given  every  other  year. 

STUDENTS  UP  TO  1879 

in  Sculpture,    A.  in  Architecture 

JOHN  ADAMS  S  1858 

JOHN  ROBINSON      ...  A  1861 

PHILIP  RICHARD  MORRIS       .  P  1863 

THOS.  HENRY  WATSON  .        .  A  1863 

RICH.  PHENE"  SPIERS      .       .  A  1864 

SAMUEL  F.  LYNN  S  1866 

RICHARD  GROOM    .       .        .  A  1867 

FRANK  HOLL  .       .       .       .  P  1868 

HERBERT  MENZIES  MARSHALL  A  1868 

HENRY  L.  FLORENCE      .       .A  1869 

HENRY  WILES  S  1870 

HORATIO  WALTER  LONSDALE  A  1870 

R.  SELDEN  WORNUM      .        .  A  1871 

HENRY  G.  W.  DRINKWATER  .  A  1872 

PHILIP  J.  MARVIN  ...  A  1874 

BERNARD  SMITH     .       .       .  A  1875 

THOMAS  M.  DEANE        .       .  A  1876 

ELEY  E.  WHITE      ...  A  1877 

WILLIAM  SCOTT      .       .       .  A  1878 

THOMAS  STIRLING  LEE  .       .  S  1879 


MAURITIUS  LOWE 
THOMAS  BANKS 
JOHN  SOANE   . 
CHARLES  GRIGI 
CHARLES  Rossi 
JOHN  DEARE  . 
GEORGE  HADFIELD 
THOMAS  PROCTOR 
WILLIAM  ARTAUD 
LEWIS  VULLIAMY 
JOSEPH  SEVERN 
WILLIAM  SCOULAR 
SAMUEL  LOAT 
GEORGE  SMITH 
EDGAR  GEORGI 
JOHN  JOHNSON 
WILLIAM  DENH 
HENRY  TIMBRELL 
JAMES  CLARKE  HOOK 
EDWARD  JAS.  PHYSICK 
RICHARD  No 

383 


TRAVELLING  STUI 

P. 

in  Painting. 

S.  in  Scu 

. 

. 

P     1771 

. 

. 

s  1772 

. 

. 

A     1777 

)N, 

Jun. 

P     1781 

. 

. 

s  1785 

. 

. 

S     1785 

D 

. 

A     1790 

. 

S     1793 

. 

. 

P     1795 

. 

.        . 

A     1818 

. 

.        . 

P     1821 

I  . 

. 

S     1825 

. 

.        . 

A     1828 

. 

. 

P     1831 

AP 

WORTH     . 

S     1834 

. 

. 

A     1837 

ME 

KENNEDY 

P     1840 

. 

. 

S     1843 

DO] 

&     . 

P     1846 

rSI( 

:K   . 

S    1850 

i  SHAW 

A    1854 

384 


APPENDICES 


GOLD   MEDALLISTS 
IN  PAINTING 


NAME.                              YRAR. 

SUBJECT. 

MAURITIUS  LOWE 

1769 

Time  discovering  Truth. 

JOSEPH  STRUTT  .... 

1770 

y£neas  stopped   on   the  Threshold  of  the 

Door  by  Creusa. 

WILLIAM  BELL    .... 

1771 

Venus    entreating    Vulcan    to    Forge    the 

Armour  of  ^neas. 

JOHN  KEYSE  SHERWIN 

1772 

Coriolanus  taking  leave  of  his  Family. 

JAMES  JEFFREYS  .... 

1774 

Seleucus  and  Stratonice. 

CHARLES  GRIGNION    . 

1776 

The  JuJgment  of  Hercules. 

CHARLES  REUBEN  RYLEY  . 

1778 

The  Sacrifice  of  Iphigenia. 

GEORGE  FARINGTON    . 

1780 

A  Scene  from  "  Macbeth." 

JOHN  HOPPNER  .... 

1782 

A  Scene  from  "  King  Lear." 

THOMAS  PROCTOR 

1784 

A  Scene  from  "  The  Tempest." 

WILLIAM  ARTAUD 

1786 

Subject  from  "Paradise  Lost." 

HENRY  SINGLETON 

1788 

Subject  from  Dryden's  Ode. 

HENRY  HOWARD 

1790 

A  Scene  from  Mason's  "  Caractacus." 

GEO.  FRANCIS  JOSEPH  . 

1792 

A  Scene  from  Shakespeare's  "Coriolanus." 

Not  awarded         .... 

1794 

Cassandra  coming  into  the  Council. 

Not  awarded         .... 

1797 

The  Ghost  of  Clytemnestra  awakening  the 

Sleeping  Furies. 

RICHARD  SMIRKE 

1799 

Samson  and  Delilah. 

STEPHEN  FRANCIS  RIGAUD  . 

1801 

Clytemnestra  exulting  over  the  Dead  Body 

of  Agamemnon. 

GEORGE  DAWE    .... 

1803 

Achilles,  frantic  for  the  loss  of  Patroclus, 

refuses  the  solicitations  of  Thetis  to  for- 

bear meeting  Hector. 

THOMAS  DOUGLAS  GUEST   . 

1805 

Bearing  the  dead  body  of  Patroclus  to  the 

Camp. 

LASCELLES  HOPPNER  . 

1807 

The  Judgment  of  Solomon. 

ARTHUR  PERIGAL 

1811 

Themistocles  taking  Refuge  at  the  Court  of 

Admetus. 

Not  awarded         .... 

1813 

Priam  begging  the  Dead  Body  of  Hector. 

JOSEPH  SEVERN  .... 

1819 

The   Cave  of  Despair.     (From  Spenser's 
"Faerie  Queen.") 

JOHN  GRAHAM    .... 

1821 

The  Prodigal  Son. 

FRANCIS  YEATES  HURLESTONE  . 

1823 

Michael  contending  with  Satan  for  the  Body 

of  Moses. 

JOHN  WOOD        .... 

!825 

Joseph  expounding  the  Dreams  of  Pharaoh's 
chief  Butler  and  Baker. 

GEORGE  SMITH   .... 

1829 

Venus  entreating  Vulcan  to  forge  arms  for 

tineas. 

DANIEL  MACLISE  .... 

1831 

The  Choice  of  Hercules. 

APPENDIX  VII 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS— IN  PAINTING— Continued. 


385 


NAME. 


YEAR. 


SUBJECT. 


WM.  DENHOLM  KENNEDY  . 
EBENEZER  BUTLER  MORRIS 

WM.  EDWARD  FROST  . 
HENRY  LE  JEUNE 
Not  awarded         .        . 

JAMES  CLARKE  HOOK  . 
JOHN  EVERETT  MILLAIS     . 

JOHN  ALFRED  VINTER 
WILLIAM  S.  BURTON  . 

CHARLES  ROLT   . 

JOSEPH  POWELL  . 

PHILIP  RICHARD  MORRIS   . 

Not  awarded 

ANDREW  BROWN  DONALDSON 

FRANK  HOLL 

CLAUDE  CALTHROP     . 
LOUISA  STARR     . 
FREDK.  TREVELYAN  GOODALL 
JESSIE  MACGREGOR 

FREDK.  GEORGE  COTMAN   . 
FRANK  DICKSEE  . 

JAS.  E.  CHRISTIE  . 

HY.  HERBERT  LA  THANGUE 


1835 
i837 

1839 
1841 

1843 

1845 
1847 

1849 
1851 

1853 

1855 
1857 
1859 
1861 

1863 

1865 
1867 
1869 
1871 

1873 
1875 

1877 

1879 


of  Apollo  and  Idas  fox 


The   Contention 
Marpessa. 

Horatius  returning  from  his  Victory  over 
the  Curiatii. 

Prometheus  bound  by  Force  and  Strength. 
Samson  bursting  his  Bonds. 

Themistocles  taking  Refuge  at  the  Court 
of  Admetus. 

Finding  the  Body  of  Harold. 

The  Young  Men  of  the  Tribe  of  Benjamin 
seizing  their  Brides  (Judges  xxi.). 

An  Act  of  Mercy. 

Delilah    asking    Forgiveness    of    Samson. 
(From  "Samson  Agonistes.") 

Orestes,  pursued  by  the  Furies,  comforted 
by  his  Sister. 

The  Death  of  Alcibiades. 
The  Good  Samaritan. 
The  Prodigal  Son. 

The   Trial   Scene  in    "The   Merchant  of 
Venice." 

The  Trial  of  Abraham's  Faith  (Gen.  xxii. 

1-14). 

Subject  from  "  The  Book  of  Job." 
David  brought  before  Saul  (i  Sam.  xvii.). 
Ulysses  and  the  Nurse  (Od.  xix.). 

One  of  the  Acts  of  Mercy,  treated  Scriptur- 
ally. 

Eucles  falling  dead  as  he  brings  to  Athens 
the  news  of  the  Victory  of  Marathon. 

Ahab  and  Jezebel  confronted  by  Elijah  in 
the  Garden  of  Naboth. 


The  Introduction  of  Christianity  into  Britain. 
The  Pool  of  Bethesda  (St  John  v.). 


[GOLD  MEDALLISTS,  ETC, 

2  B 


386 


APPENDICES 


GOLD    MEDALLISTS    AND    TRAVELLING    STUDENTS 
IN  PAINTING 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

SAM.  MELTON  FISHER 

1881 

The  Messengers  coming  to  Job  (Job  i.). 

WM.  MOUAT  LOUDAN  . 

1883 

St  Peter  denying  Christ. 

HORACE  B.  FISHER      . 

1885 

A  Scene  from  "  Hamlet." 

ARTHUR  T.  NOWELL  . 

1887 

Captives. 

HERBERT  JAS.  DRAPER 

1889 

An  Episode  of  the  Deluge. 

RALPH  PEACOCK  .... 

1891 

Victory. 

HAROLD  EDW.  SPEED  . 

1893 

Joseph  interpreting  Pharaoh's  Dream. 

HARRY  ROBERT  MILEHAM  . 

1895 

The  Finding  of  Moses  (Exod.  ii.  5). 

Not  awarded         .... 

1897 

Cleopatra  clandestinely  introduced  into  the 
Presence  of  Caesar. 

FRANK  Moss  BENNETT 

1899 

Ladas,  winner    of   the  long   Footrace   at 

Olympia,  falling    dead   as   he    goes    to 

receive  the  Crown  of  Victory. 

GEORGE  MURRAY 

1901 

Saul  and  the  Witch  of  Endor  (i  Sam.  xvii. 

Not  awarded         .... 

1903 

The  Meeting  of  Diogenes  the  Cynic  and 
Alexander  at  Corinth. 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS 

IN  SCULPTURE 

R.  In  the  Round.     Rel.  In  Relief. 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

JOHN  BACON     . 

1769 

Rel. 

tineas  Escaping  from  Troy. 

THOMAS  BANKS 

1770 

Rel. 

The  Rape  of  Proserpine. 

P.  M.  VAN  GELDER  . 

1771 

Rel. 

The  Choice  of  Hercules. 

THOMAS  ENGLEHEART     . 

1772 

Rel. 

Ulysses  and  Nausicaa. 

CHARLES  BANKS 

1774 

R. 

The  Story  of  Pygmalion. 

HENRY  WEBBER 

1776 

Rel. 

The  Judgment  of  Midas. 

JOHN  HICKEY  . 

1778 

Rel. 

The  Slaughter  of  the  Innocents. 

JOHN  DEARE     . 

1780 

Rel. 

Subject  from  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost." 

CHARLES  PEART 

1782 

R. 

Hercules  and  Omphale. 

CHARLES  Rossi 

1784 

R. 

Venus  conducting  Helen  to  Paris. 

PIERRE  FRANCOIS  CHENU 

1786 

R. 

Restoration  of  the  Torso. 

CHARLES  HORWELL  . 

1788 

R. 

Achilles's  Grief  at  the  Death  of  Patroclus. 

CHARLES  TACONET 

1790 

R. 

A  Scene  from  the  History  of  Samson. 

No  Candidate    . 

1792 

R. 

The  Judgment  of  Paris. 

JOHN  BACON,  Jun.    . 

1794 

R. 

Cassandra.  From  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost," 

Book  V. 

APPENDIX  VII 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS— IN  SCULPTURE- Continue*. 


387 


««* 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

JAMES  SMITH    . 

1797 

R. 

Venus  wounded  by  Diomede. 

HUMPHRY  HOPPER  . 

1803 

R. 

The  Death  of  Meleager. 

WILLIAM  TOLLEMACHE    . 

1805 

R. 

Chaining  Prometheus  to  the  Rock. 

Not  awarded 

1807 

Juno  applying  to  -dEolus  to  raise  the  Storm 

against  /Eneas's  Fleet. 

EDWARD  HODGES  BAILY  . 

1811 

R. 

Hercules  rescuing  Alcestis  from  Orcus. 

JOSEPHUS  KENDRICK 

1813 

Rel. 

Adam  and  Eve  lamenting  over  the  dead 

body  of  Abel. 

SAMUEL  JOSEPH 

1815 

R. 

Eve  supplicating  Forgiveness  at  the  Feet 

of  Adam. 

WILLIAM  SCOULAR   . 

1817 

Rel. 

The  Judgment  of  Paris. 

JOSEPH  GOTT    . 

1819 

R. 

Jacob  wrestling  with  the  Angel. 

FREDERICK  WM.  SMITH   . 

1821 

R. 

Hasmon  and  Antigone. 

ROBERT  BALL  HUGHES    . 

1823 

Rel. 

Mercury  bringing  Pandora  to  Epimetheus. 
(From  Hesiod's  Theogony.) 

JOSEPH  DEARE  . 

1825 

R. 

David  and  Goliath. 

JAMES  LEGREW 

1829 

R. 

Ajax  Oileus  dragging  Cassandra  from  the 

Altar  of  Minerva. 

SEBASTIAN       WYNDHAM 

ARNALD 

1831        R.     :  The  Murder  of  the  Innocents. 

EDGAR  GEO.  PAP  WORTH  . 

1833 

R.     ;  Ulysses  receiving  the  Scarf  from  Leacothea. 

HENRY  TIMBRELL     . 

1835 

R.       Mezentius  tying  the  dead  to  the  living. 

Not  awarded 

1837        R.      Ajax  Oileus  dragging  Cassandra  from  the 

Altar  of  Minerva.     ^Eneid  2. 

THOMAS  EARLE 

1839 

R.     ,  Hercules  delivering  Hesione  from  the  Sea 

Monster. 

WM.  CALDER  MARSHALL  . 

1841 

R.       Venus  rescuing  /Eneas  from  Diomed. 

EDW.  Bo  WRING  STEPHENS 

1843 

Rel.  ;  Combat  of  the  Centaurs  and  Lapithae. 

ALFRED  BROWN 

1845 

Rel.     The  Hours  leading  out  the  Horses  of  the 

Sun. 

GEORGE  GAMMON  ADAMS 

1847 

R.       The  Murder  of  the  Innocents. 

EDWARD  JAS.  PHYSICK     . 

1849 

Rel. 

The  Rape  of  Proserpine. 

CHARLES  SUMMERS  . 

1851 

R. 

Mercy  interceding  for  the  Vanquished. 

EDGAR  GEO.  PAPWORTH  . 

1853 

R. 

The  Death  of  Procris. 

JOHN  ADAMS    . 

1855 

R. 

Eve  supplicating  Forgiveness  at  the  Feet  of 

Adam. 

GEORGE  JAMES  MILLER    . 

1857 

R. 

The  Good  Samaritan. 

SAMUEL  F.  LYNN     . 

1859 

R. 

Lycaon  imploring    Achilles  to   spare  his 

Life. 

GEORGE  SLATER 

1861 

R. 

"  Remorse,"  Adam  and  Eve  after  the  Fall. 

HENRY  BURSILL 

1863 

R. 

A  Composition  from  "  The  Deluge." 

PERCIVAL  BALL 

1865 

R. 

The  Brazen  Serpent. 

HENRY  WILES  . 

1867 

R. 

The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents. 

388  APPENDICES 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS— IN  SCULPTURE,  Etc.— Continued. 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

THOMAS  BROCK 
HORACE  MONTFORD  * 

1869 
1869 

}H. 

Hercules  stranglii.j  Antaeus. 

ROBERT  STOCKS 

1871 

R. 

Ulysses  drawing  the  Arrow  from  the  Foot 
of  Diomede. 

WILLIAM  WHITE 

1873 

R. 

Panthea  stabs  herself  over  the  dead  body  of 
her  husband  Abradates. 

WM.HAMO  THORNYCROFT 

1875 

R. 

A  Warrior  bearing  a  wounded  Youth  from 
the  Battle. 

THOMAS  STIRLING  LEE     . 
FREDERIC  C.  CALLCOTT    . 

1877 
1879 

R. 
R. 

Hercules  throwing  Lycus  into  the  Sea. 
Venus  rescuing  /Eneas  from  Diomede. 

A  second  Gold  Medal  was  awarded  to  this  student  on  account  of  the  great  merit  of  his  work. 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS  AND  TRAVELLING  STUDENTS 
IN  SCULPTURE 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SOBJKCT. 

OSCAR  ALEX.  JUNCK  . 

1881 

R. 

Jacob  wrestling  with  the  Angel. 

HARRY  BATES  . 

1883 

Rel. 

Socrates  teaching  the  People  in  the  Agora. 

FRED.  WILL.  POMEROY     . 

1885 

R. 

Cain  the  Outcast. 

GEORGE  JAS.  FRAMPTON  . 

1887 

R. 

An  Act  of  Mercy. 

WILLIAM  GOSCOMBE  JOHN 

1889 

R. 

Parting. 

PAUL    RAPHAEL    MONT- 

FORD     .... 

1891 

R. 

Jacob  wrestling  with  the  Angel. 

DAVID  McGiLL 

1893 

R. 

Irene  and    her    Attendants    removing    St 

Sebastian  after  his  first  Martyrdom. 

1  FRANCIS  DERWENT  WOOD 

I89S 

R. 

Daedalus  and  Icarus. 

ALFRED  TURNER 

1897 

R. 

Charity. 

GILBERT  WILLIAM  BAYES 

1899 

R. 

/Eneas  leaving  Troy. 

STANLEY  NICHOLSON  BABK 

1901 

Rel. 

Boadicea  urging  the  Britons  to  avenge  her 

j 

outraged  Daughters. 

ARTHUR  CHAS.  WHITE    . 

1903 

R. 

Three  Generations. 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS 
IN    ARCHITECTURE 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

JAMES  GANDON  .... 

1769 

A  Triumphal  Arch  to  commemorate  Vic- 
tories in  the  late  War. 

No  Candidate       .... 

1770 

A  Nobleman's  Villa. 

JOHN  VENN        .... 

1771 

A  Nobleman's  Villa. 

APPENDIX  VII  389 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS— IN  ARCHITECTURE— Continued. 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

No  Candidate       .... 

1772 

A  Nobleman's  Town  House,  with  Offices, 

THOMAS  WHETTON     . 

1774 

A  Nobleman's  Town  House. 

JOHN  SOANE       .... 

1776 

A  Triumphal  Bridge. 

WILLIAM  Moss    .... 

1778 

A  Church  of  the  Corinthian  Order  in  the 

form  of  a  Grecian  Cross  finishing  with  a 

Dome. 

Not  awarded         .... 

1780 

A  Theatre. 

THOMAS  MALTON 

1782 

A  Theatre. 

GEORGE  HADFIELD 

1784 

A  National  Prison. 

JOHN  LINNELL  BOND  . 

1786 

A    Mausoleum    for   Monuments    to    Dis- 

tinguished Characters. 

JOHN  SANDERS    .... 

1788 

A  Church  with  Steeple  or  Spire. 

JOSEPH  GANDY    .... 

1790 

A  Triumphal  Arch. 

EDWARD  GYFFORD 

1792 

A  House  of  Lords  and  Commons. 

Not  awarded          .... 

1794 

An  Exchange. 

WILLIAM  ATKINSON    . 

1797 

A  Court  of  Justice. 

ROBERT  SMIRKE  .... 

1799 

A    National    Museum    for    Painting    and 

Sculpture. 

THOMAS  WILLSON 

1801 

A  National  Edifice,  adapted   to  the  Com- 

memoration of  British  Naval  and   Mili- 

• 

tary  Heroism. 

WILLIAM  LOCKNER 

1805 

An  Elegant  Villa. 

CHARLES  A.  BUSBY 

1807 

An  Insulated  Building  to  contain  the  Royal 

and  Antiquarian    Societies,   and    Royal 

Academy. 

JAMES  ADAMS      .... 

1809 

An  Edifice  Dedicated  to  National  Genius 

and  Virtue. 

FRANCIS  EDAVARDS 

1811 

A  Theatre. 

LEWIS  VULLIAMY 

1813 

A  Nobleman's  Country  Mansion. 

MATTHEW  EDWARD  THOMAS 

1815 

A  Royal  Palace. 

CHARLES  HARRIOT  SMITH  . 

1817 

A  Royal  Academy  of  Painting,  Sculpture, 
and  Architecture. 

SYDNEY  SMIRKE  .... 

1819 

Pliny's  Villa  at  Laurentinum. 

RICHARD  KELSEY 

1821 

A  Theatre. 

THOMAS  BRADBERRY  . 

1823 

A  National  Hospital  for  Sailors. 

HENRY  BASSETT  .... 

1825 

A  National  Edifice  adapted  for  the  Royal 

Academy,  Royal  Society,  and  the  Society 

of  Antiquaries. 

SAMUEL  LOAT     .... 

1827 

A  National  Gallery  for  Painting  and  Sculp- 

WILLIAM  GRELLIER     . 

1829 

A  British  Senate  House.                      tture' 

JOHN  DAVIS  PAINE     . 

1833 

A  Royal  Exchange. 

JOHN  JOHNSON    .... 

1835 

A  Royal  Palace. 

EDWARD  A.  GIFFARD  . 

1837 

A  National  Museum. 

390  APPENDICES 

GOLD  MEDALLISTS— IN  ARCHITECTURE— Continued. 


NAME. 


YEAR. 


SPBJECT. 


EDWARD  FALKENER    . 
WILLIAM  HINTON  CAMPBELL 
HENRY  BAYLY  GARLING     . 
ARTHUR  EBDEN  JOHNSON  . 
EDWARD  RUMSEY 
ARTHUR  ALLOM  . 

JOHN  ROBINSON  . 
RICHARD  NORMAN  SHAW  . 

Not  awarded          . 

FRANCIS  TRIMMER  GOMPERTZ    , 
ERNEST  GEORGE  . 

THOMAS  HENRY  WATSON   . 
RICHARD  PHEN£  SPIERS     . 
ALFRED  RIDGE    . 
JOHN  HUMPHREY  SPANTON 
HENRY  L.  FLORENCE  . 
WILLIAM  GOLDSWORTHY  DAVIE 
Not  awarded         . 
WILLIAM  FRAME  . 
EDWARD  CLARKE 

FRANK  T.  BAGGALLAY 


1839 
1841 
1843 
1845 
1847 
1849 

1851 
1853 

1855 

1857 
1859 

1861 
1863 
1865 
1867 
1869 
1871 
1873 

1875 
1877 

1879 


A  Cathedral  Church. 
A  House  of  Lords  and  Commons. 
A  Music  Hall  and  Royal  Academy  of  Music. 
A  National  Record  Office. 
A  Cathedral  Church. 

A  Royal  Academy  upon  the   Sile  of  the 
present  Building  (in  Trafalgar  Square). 
A  Marine  Palace. 

A  Military  College  in  Honour  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington. 

An  Edifice  for  the  Exhibition  of  the  Works 
of  Art,  Science,  and  Industry. 

A  National  Gallery. 

A  Grand  Hotel  in  the  heart  of  a  Metro- 
politan City. 

An  Exchange  for  a  large  Commercial  City. 

A  Hall  and  Staircase  for  a  Royal  Palace. 

A  Hall  of  Science  and  Art. 

A  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

A  Theatre. 

A  Building  for  Learned  Societies. 

A  Public  Gymnasium. 

A  Nobleman's  Town  House. 

A  House  of  Legislature  for  a  Great  Colonial 
Capital. 

A  Baptistery. 


GOLD  MEDALLISTS  AND  TRAVELLING  STUDENTS 
IN  ARCHITECTURE 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

JAMES  HOWARD  INCE  . 

1881 

A  Casino  or  Club  for  an  Inland  Watering 
Place. 

EDWIN  GEORGE  HARDY 

1883 

An  Academy  of  Arts. 

THOMAS  MACLAREN    . 

1885 

A  Corner  House  in  a  Street  or  Square,  so 
Planned  and  Lighted  as  to  allow  of  the 
proper  placing   of    Pictures,   Sculpture, 
and  other  Works  of  Art. 

ROBERT  WEIR  SCHULTZ 

1887 

A  Railway  Terminus. 

Not  awarded          .... 

1889 

Public  Baths. 

APPENDIX  VII 


391 


GOLD  MEDALLISTS  AND  TRAVELLING  STUDENTS— IN 
ARCHITECTURE—  Continued. 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJICT. 

ALFRED  HENRY  HART 

1891 

A  Large  Town  House,  planned  with  a  view 
to  the  proper  Placing  and  Lighting  of 
Pictures,  Sculpture,  and  other  Works  of 
Art,  but  not  to  contain  a  Picture  Gallery. 

JAMES  S.  STEWART 

1893 

A  Provincial  Town  Hall. 

PlETER  RODECK   .... 

1895 

A  Town  Church,  the  Plan  to  be  in  the  form 
of  a  Greek  Cross. 

ARCHIBALD  H.  CHRISTIE     . 

1897 

A  Nobleman's  Country  House. 

HORACE  CHAS.  HIDE  . 

1899 

A  Public  School  for  200  Boys. 

BERNARD  HUGH  WEBB 

1901 

A  Town  Hall  for  one  of  the  new  London 
Borough  Councils. 

LIONEL  UPPERTON  GRACE  . 

1903 

A  Domed  Church. 

TURNER  (LANDSCAPE)  GOLD  MEDALLISTS  AND  SCHOLARS 

For  an  account  of  the  institution  of  these  Medals  and  Scholarships,  the  latter  of 
which  were  not  added  till  1881,  see  page  226. 


NAME. 

YEAR. 

SUBJECT. 

NEVIL  OLIVER  LUPTON 

1857 

An  English  Landscape. 

FRANK  WALTON  .... 

1863 

An  English  Landscape. 

MARMADUKE  A.  LANGDALE 

1865 

A  Sea  Piece  on  the  British  Coast. 

FREDERICKTREVELYAN  GOODALL 

1867 

Autumn. 

WILLIAM  LIONEL  WYLLIE  . 

1869 

Coast  Scene,  after  a  Storm  —  Dawn. 

ALFRED  FITZWALTER  GRACE 

1871 

Early  Morning. 

ERNEST  ALBERT  WATERLOW 

1873 

A  Land  Storm. 

JAS.  H.  DA  VIES   .... 

1875 

"  Under  the  opening  eyelids  of  the  Morn." 
MILTON'S  Lycidas. 

ALLEN  C.  SEALY  .... 

1877 

The  Skirts  of  a  Wood  ;  Storm  coming  on. 

HENRY  GIBBS      .... 

1879 

An  Ocean  Coast. 

BRYAN  HOOK      .... 

;i88l 

"...  Light  thickens  ;  and  the  crow 

Makes  wing  to  the  rocky  wood  : 
Good  things  of  day  begin  to  droop  and 
drowse."                              Macbeth,  iii.  2. 

ROBERT  OCTAVIUS  RICKATSON  . 

1883 

"  Calm  and  deep  peace  on  this  high  wold, 
And  on  these  dews  that  drench  the  furze, 
And  all  the  silvery  gossamers 
That  twinkle  into  green  and  gold." 
TENNYSON,  In  Memoriam,  xi. 

CHARLES  ALEXANDER  WILKINSON 

1885 

The  Mountain   of  Clouds.     The  Story  of 
Hassan  of  El  Bosrah. 
A  rabian  Nights,  Lane's  Ed.,  chap.  xxv. 

ARTHUR  TREVETHIN  NOWELL    . 

1887 

Sunset  after  a  Storm. 

URSULA  WOOD    .... 

1889 

Morning  ;  "  Hail  Smiling  Morn." 

392  APPENDICES 

TURNER  GOLD  MEDALLISTS  AND  SCHOLARS— Continued. 


NAME. 


YEAR. 


SUBJECT. 


FRANCIS  JOSEPH  MACKENZIE 


HAROLD  WAITE  . 
CECIL  Ross  BURNETT  . 

ALFRED  PRIEST  . 
FRED.  APPLEYARD 
OSMOND  PITTMAN 

JOHN  HODGSON  LOBLEY 


1891 


1893 


1897 
1899 
1901 

1903 


"  And  now  the  sun  had  stretch'd  out  all  the 

hills, 

And  now  was  dropp'd  into  the  western 
bay."  MILTON'S  Lycidas. 

Moonrise  before  Sunset. 

"...  Jocund  day 

Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain  tops." 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  iii.  5« 

An  Afterglow. 
The  incoming  Tide. 

One  of  the  Bridges  over  the  Thames  in 
London. 

An  Express  Train  at  Sunset. 


APPENDIX  VIII 


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INDEX 


[Only  the  Names  of  those  Members  of  the  Academy  of  whom  an  account  is  given  in  this 
volume  are  included  in  the  Index.  The  others  will  be  found  in  the  different 
Appendices.] 


Academic  Annals,  Prince  Hoare's,  180 
A  cademic  Correspondence, Prince  Hoare's,  1 80 
Academicians,  the  form  of  diploma  given 
to,   31;    the   "obligation"    signed    by, 
44 ;    establishment   of  honorary  retired 
Academicians,  265,  316  ;   the  filling  of 
vacancies   amongst,    1 10 ;   list  of,  from 
1768  to  1904,  352-359 
Academicianship,    tlu    admission    of    en- 
gravers to,  297,  327 

Academy,  Royal,  the  proposals  for  the 
establishment  of,  8 ;  the  germ  of,  9 ; 
students  of,  II  ;  original  members  of,  12, 
84,  346;  formal  foundation  of,  12  ;  first 
public  assembly  of,  13  ;  becomes  self- 
supporting,  29  ;  relation  of  the  sovereign 
to,  12,  13 ;  first  executive  officers  of, 
44 ;  the  Coun  ;il  of,  45  ;  the  Keeper- 
ship  of,  to.,  365;  the  Librarianship  of,  to., 
366  ;  the  Secretaryship  of,  ib.,  364 ;  the 
Treasurership  of,  to.,  179,  365 ;  the 
Visitors  in  the  Schools  of,  ib.,  52  ;  the 
system  of  education  in,  to. ;  the  first  Pro- 
fessors of,  56 ;  duties  of  the  Professors, 
59 ;  diplomas  given  to  the  Professors, 
60 ;  penalties  for  non-exhibiting  in, 
88 ;  candidates  for  election  to,  1 10 ; 
the  finances  of,  to.,  177  ;  dispute  between 
the  Council  and  General  Assembly  of, 
172 ;  the  charity  fund  of,  177 ;  pen- 
sions given  by,  to.,  178;  founding  of 
the  Professorship  of  Sculpture  in,  179; 
period  of  studentship  in,  ib.  ;  estab- 
lishment of  varnishing  days  in,  ib. ; 
annual  reports  of,  181  ;  asked  to  prepare 
drawings  and  models  for  coinage,  184; 
resolution  on  lectures  of  Professors, 
233;  honorary  officers  of,  313;  the 


first  official  dinner  of,  313  ;  removal  of 
to  Trafalgar  Square,  320 ;  number  of 
works  allowed  to  be  sent  in  by  each 
exhibitor,  325  ;  the  Instrument  creating 
the  Academy,  345-351  ;  list  of  Presidents 
of,  364  ;  list  of  Secretaries  of,  ib. ;  list  of 
Keepers  of,  365  ;  list  of  Treasurers  of,  ib.  • 
list  of  Librarians  of,  366  ;  lists  of  Pro- 
fessors in,  366-368  ;  Honorary  Members 
of,  368-369 ;  list  of  diploma  works  de- 
posited in,  370-376 ;  of  pictures  and 
statuary  in,  other  than  diploma  works, 
377-382  ;  of  works  in  the  Gibson  gallery, 
381  ;  silver  plate  possessed  by,  ib.  ;  the 
library  of,  382  ;  list  of  students  who  have 
obtained  gold  medals  and  travelling 
studentships,  383-392 

Academy  Dinner,  the  first  official,  313  ; 
roll  of  guests  invited  to,  314  ;  speech 
of  H.R.H.  the  Prince  Consort  at,  340 

"Achilles  Statue,"  Sir  R.  Westmacott's, 
261 

Adam,  the  brothers,  persuade  Antonio 
Zucchi  to  come  to  England,  156 

"Ajax  defending  the  dead  body  of 
Patroclus,"  Stothard's,  197 

Alderson,  Amelia,  marriage  of  to  John 
Opie,  142 

Algarotti,  92 

"Allegory  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo," 
James  Ward's,  258 

Allston,  Washington,  A.,  parentage  of,  301 ; 
pictures  by,  ib.  ;  Life  and  Letters  of,  302 

Anatomy,  list  of  Professors  of,  367 

Anecdotes  of  Painters,  Edwards's,  1 60 

Anecdotes  of  Painters  in  Spain,  Richard 
Cumberland's,  23 

Anecdotes  of  Painting,  Walpole's,  153 


400 


INDEX 


Angerstein  Collection,  the,  purchase  of,  311 

Antiquaries  of  the  Academy,  list  of,  369 

"Apollo,"  Turner's,  214 

Architecture,  list  of  Professors  of,  367 

Arnald,  George,  A.,  parentage  of,  299 ; 
his  "  Battle  of  the  Nile,"  ib. 

Art,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  I,  6; 
origin  of,  in  England,  3,  5  ;  school  of, 
in  St  Martin's  Lane,  7  ;  new  phase  of, 
in  England  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  169 

Art  of  Painting,  Du  Fresnoy's,  124,  189 

Artists'  Benevolent  Fund,  the,  founding 
of,  311 

Artists'  General  Benevolent  Institution, 
the,  founding  of,  311 

Artists,  the  Free  Society  of,  10 

Artists,  the  Incorporated  Society  of,  10  ; 
seceders  from,  u 

Arts,  the  Fine,  government  recognition  of, 

3li 

Associate-Engravers,  resolution  to  institute 
a  class  of,  112  ;  first  election  of,  113 

Associates,  the  Institution  of,  HO  ;  diploma 
of,  in;  minimum  number  of,  112  ; 
first  election  of,  113  ;  the  number  elected 
under  the  Presidency  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  114,  151  ;  list  of  Associates 
who  have  not  become  Academicians, 
360-363 

Audinet,  Philip,  106 

Autobiographical  Recollections,  Leslie's,  255, 
326 

BACON,  John,  R.A.,  42 ;  monuments  by, 
132 

Bacon,  Sir  Nathaniel,  3 

Baily,  Edward  Hodges,  R.A.,  birth  and 
parentage  of,  315  ;  art  education  of,  316  ; 
statues  and  bas-reliefs  by,  ib. ;  necessities 
of,  ib. ;  death,  317 

Baker,  John,  R.A.,  101 

Bank  of  England,  Sir  John  Soane's  design 
of  the  N.W.  corner  of,  232 

Banks,  Thomas,  R.A.,  39  ;  appointed  to  the 
committee  to  consider  the  charge  against 
Barry,  128;  birth  of,  136;  studies  in 
Rome,  137;  goes  to  Russia,  ib. ; 
pictures  by,  137,  138;  monuments  by, 
in  St  Paul's,  138  ;  his  character,  ib. 

Barret,  George,  R.A.,  101  ;  his  work  on 
Gilpin's  picture,  200 

Barretti,  Joseph,  313 

Barry,  James,  R.A.,  ambition  of,  122  ;  birth 
of,  ib. ;  character  of,  122,  126  ;  befriended 
by  Burke,  123 ;  Allan  Cunningham's 
opinion  of,  ib. ;  qualities  possessed 
by,  127 ;  high  opinion  entertained  of 
his  talents  by  Reynolds,  123,  127  ; 
his  decoration  of  St  Paul's  Cathedral 


and  the  hall  of  the  Society  of  Arts, 
127;  his  picture  of  the  "Death  of 
Wolfe,"  ib. ;  is  elected  Professor  of 
Painting,  ib. ;  insults  the  President  and 
members,  128  ;  the  charges  against  him, 
ib.  ;  his  expulsion  and  death,  129,  171 

Bartolozzi,  Francesco,  R.A.,  birth  and 
parentage  of,  84  ;  his  reputation  as  an 
engraver,  85  ;  his  death,  ib. ;  his  friend- 
ship with  Cipriani,  ib. 

"  Battle  of  La  Hogue,"  West's,  190 

"Battle  of  Waterloo,"  A.  Cooper's,  290; 
G.  James's,  320 

"  Battle  of  the  Nile,"  Arnald's,  299 

"  Bay  of  Baise,"  J.  M.  W.  Turner's,  214 

Beaumont,  Sir  George,  extends  his  patron- 
age to  Wilkie,  252  ;  to  John  Jackson, 
281  ;  to  John  Constable,  332 

Beechey,  Sir  William,  R.A.,  200  ;  Owen's 
indictment  of,  240 

"  Benaiah,"  Etty's,  332 

Bentham,  Jeremy,  Pickersgill's  portrait  of, 
328 

Bicknell,  Miss,  334 

Bigg,  William  Redmore,  R.A.,  268  ;  works 
by,  273  ;  death,  ib. 

"  Bird-Catchers,"  William  Collins's,  291 

Bird,  Edward,  R.A.,  parentage  and  art 
education  of,  273  ;  works  by,  ib.  ;  death, 

275 

"  Blind  Fiddler,  The,"  Wilkie's,  252 

Bloxam,  D.D.,  Rev.  j.  R.,  309 

"  Boa-Constrictor  seizing  a  Horse,"  James 
Ward's,  258 

Bone,  Henry,  R.A.,  parentage  and  art 
education  of,  266  ;  his  "Sleeping  Girl," 
266  ;  enamels  by,  266,  267  ;  appointed 
enamel  painter  to  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  George  III.,  267  ;  death,  ib. 

Bonomi,  Joseph,  A.,  election  of,  as  an 
Associate,  37,  166  ;  his  talents,  166 

Book  of  Emblems,  Jacob  Gatz's,  15 

Bookof  Kells,  the,  116 

Booth,  Sophia  Caroline,  224 

Bourgeois,  Sir  F.,  R.A.,  appointed  on  the 
committee  to  consider  the  charges  against 
Barry,  128  ;  suspended  from  the  Council, 
172  ;  founds  the  Dulwich  picture  gallery, 
182,  195  ;  parentage  of,  194  ;  his  work, 

195 
"Boy   and    Rabbit,"    Sir    H.    Raeburn's, 

276 
Boydell,     Alderman,     his     "  Shakespeare 

Gallery,"    136,    143 ;    purchase    of    his 

Gallery   in  Pall  Mall  for  the    "British 

Institution,"  181 
"Boys   at   Breakfast,"  William  Collins's, 

291 

"Boys  Fishing,"  Mulready's,  278 
"  Boys  relieving  a  Blind  Man,"  Bigg's,  273 


INDEX 


401 


"Boys    with    a    Bird's     Nest,"    William 

Collins's,  291 
Brandt,      Angelica      Kauffman's      secret 

marriage  with,  93 
Bray's,  Mrs,  Life  of  Stothard,  196 
British    Institution,    the,    foundation    of, 

181 

British  Museum,  the,  263 
Bromley,  William,  A.E.,  302 
Browne,  John,  A.E.,  his  chief  works,  152 
Buchan,  Earl  of,  sets  on  foot  a  subscription 

for  Barry,  129 
"  Building  of  Carthage,  The,"  J.  M.   W. 

Turner's,  214 
Burch,  Edward,  R.A.,  appointed  Librarian, 

1 14  ;  death,  ib. 
Burke,  Edmund,  effect  on,  of  Sir  Joshua 

Reynolds'    death,    20 ;    friendship  with 

James  Barry,  123  ;  letters  to  Barry,  125 
Burr,  Margaret,  72 
Byrne,  John,  297 

CALLCOTT,  Sir  Augustus  Wall,  R.A., 
parentage  of,  247  ;  his  landscapes,  248  ; 
marriage  of,  249  ;  is  knighted,  ib. ;  death 
of,  ib. 

Callcott,  John  Wall,  247 

Canot,  Pierre  Charles,  A.E.,  birth  of,  152  ; 
engravings  by,  ib. 

Canova,  J.  Jackson's  portrait  of,  282 

"  Caractacus,"  Howard's,  242 

Carlini,  Agostino,  R.A.,  elected  Keeper,  86 ; 
statues  by,  86 

Carlisle,  Lord,  writes  to  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds on  his  resignation  of  the  Presi- 
dency, 42  ;  acts  as  one  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds'  pall-bearers,  168 

Catalogues  of  the  Exhibitions,  180 

Catton,  Charles,  R.A.,  on  the  committee  to 
request  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  to  withdraw 
his  resignation,  42  ;  birth  of,  102  ;  ap- 
pointed coach-painter  to  George  III.,  ib. 

"  Ceres  Disconsolate  for  the  Loss  of  Proser- 
pine," R.  Cook's,  317 

Chalon,  Alfred  Edward,  R.A.,  parentage  of, 
279 ;  founds  the  Sketching  Club  with 
his  brother,  J.  J.  Chalon,  280;  his 
"  Memorials,"  ib. ;  his  portrait  of  Queen 
Victoria,  281  ;  his  death,  ib. 

Chalon,  J.  J.,  R.A.,  280 

Chamberlin,  Mason,  R.A.,  becomes  a  pupil 
of  Francis  Hayman,  102  ;  his  portrait  of 
Dr  Wm.  Hunter,  ib.  ;  his  art,  169 

Chambers,  Sir  William,  R.A.,  his  part  in 
the  inception  of  the  Royal  Academy,  28, 
46  ;  his  attitude  on  the  question  of  filling 
the  Chair  of  Perspective's  ;  his  opposition 
to  the  grant  of  money  towards  a  monu- 
ment to  Johnson  in  St  Paul's,  43  ;  early 
life  of,  47  ;  publishes  works  on  Chinese 


Architecture,  ib. ;  his  Dissertation  on 
Oriental  Gardening,  ib. ;  his  connection 
with  the  court,  ib.  ;  appointments  held 
by,  48  ;  his  Treatise  on  Civil  Architecture^ 
ib.  ;  death  and  burial  of,  49 

Chambers,  Thomas,  A.E.,  birth  of,  152  ; 
drowns  himself,  153 

Chantrey,  Sir  Francis  Legatt,  R.A.,  parent- 
age of,  283  ;  his  first  commission,  ib. ; 
marries  Miss  Wale,  ib. ;  bust  exhibited 
by  him,  284  ;  patronage  enjoyed  by,  ib.  • 
his  "Sleeping  Children,"  ib. ;  statues 
by,  ib. ;  appointed  Trustee,  285  ;  his 
death  and  will,  ib. 

Chantrey  Bequest,  the,  285-288 ;  list  of 
works  purchased  under  the  terms  of, 
393-398 

Chaplains  to  the  Academy,  list  of,  368 

Charity  Fund,  177 

Charles  I.,  Le  Sueur's  statue  of,  284 

Chemistry,  Professorship  of,  59 ;'  list  of 
Professors,  367 

"  Chevy  Chase,"  Bird's,  274 

"Children  of  Charles  B.  Calmady," 
Lawrence's,  309 

"  Christ  healing  the  Sick,"  West's,  190 

"Christ  crowned  with  Thorns,"  Hilton's, 
289 

Chodowiecky,  196 

"Choosing  the  Wedding  Gown,"  Mul- 
ready's,  279 

Cipriani,  Giovanni  Battista,  R.A.,  manages 
the  Duke  of  Richmond's  gallery  of  anti- 
quities, 9 ;  his  design  for  the  head- 
piece of  the  diploma,  31  ;  his  friend- 
ship with  Bartolozzi,  85 ;  birth  and 
death  of,  86 ;  his  designs  for  gold 
and  silver  medals  presented  to  prize 
winners  in  the  Academy  schools,  ib. 

Clarke,  Theophilus,  A.,  297 

Classic  Revivalism,  wave  of,  263 

"  Cleopatra's  Arrival  at  Cilicia,"  Etty's,  330 

Clint,  George,  A.,  birth  and  parentage,  337  ; 
resignation  I  of  Associateship,  ib.\  his  op- 
position to  the  Academy,  338 ;  his  death, 
ib. 

Coleridge,  Allston's  portrait  of,  301 

Collins,  Samuel,  150 

Collins,  William,  R.A.,  parentage,  291  ; 
receives  the  advice  of  George  Morland, 
ib. ;  awarded  a  silver  medal,  ib. ;  pictures 
by,  ib. ;  his  pecuniary  affairs,  292 ; 
liberality  of  Sir  Thomas  Heathcote 
to,  ib. ;  goes  to  Italy,  ib. ;  death,  ib. ; 
number  of  works  exhibited  by,  293  ; 
marriage,  ib. ;  elected  Librarian,  ib. ; 
sons  of,  ib. 

Collyer,  Joseph,  A.E.,  success  as  a  book 
illustrator,  154;  becomes  portrait  en- 
graver to  Queen  Charlotte,  ib, 

2  C 


402 


INDEX 


Colvin,  Sidney,  his  opinion  of  Flaxman's 
Art,  204 

"Combat,  The,"  Etty's,  331 

Constable,  John,  R.A.,  parentage  and  educa- 
tion of,  332  ;  introduced  to  Sir  George 
Beaumont,  ib. ;  makes  the  acquaintance 
of  Joseph  Farington,  333  ;  becomes  a 
student  at  the  Royal  Academy,  ib. ; 
encouraged  by  West,  ib. ;  early  pictures 
by,  ib. ;  marries  Miss  Bicknell,  334 ; 
pictures  by,  ib.,  335  ;  lack  of  patronage, 
ib. ;  death  of  his  wife,  ib. ;  his  lectures 
on  landscape  painting,  336  ;  his  death,  ib. 

Cook,  Richard,  R.A.,  subjects  of  his  pic- 
tures, 317 

Cooper,  Abraham,  R.A.,  parentage  of,  289  ; 
pictures  by,  290  ;  distressed  circumstances 
and  death,  ib. 

Cooper,  Samuel,  3,  117 

Copley,  John  Singleton,  R.A.,  on  the  com- 
mittee to  request  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  to 
withdraw  his  resignation  of  the  Presi- 
dency, 42  ;  birth  of,  132  ;  his  "  Death  of 
Lord  Chatham,"  132;  his  art,  133;  his 
"Death  of  Major  Pierson,"  134;  is 
suspended  from  the  Council,  172 

"  Coral  Finders,"  Etty's,  330 

Cosway,  Richard,  R.A.,  on  the  committee 
to  request  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  to 
withdraw  his  resignation  of  the  Presi- 
dency, 42  ;  early  years  of,  1 14  ;  his  extra- 
vagance, 1 1 5, 1 1 8  ;  oil  portraits  by,  ib. ;  his 
art,  117  ;  marriage  of,  118  ;  last  years,  119 

Cotes,  Francis,  R.A.,  117  ;  birth  and  success 
of,  86  ;  works  by,  87  ;  death  of,  ib. ;  his 
art,  169 

"Cottage  Girl,"  William  Owen's,  240 

Cotterell,  the  Misses,  19 

"  Country  Auction,"  Bird's,  274 

Cousins,  Samuel,  R.A.,  113  ;  elected  Acade- 
mician, 327 

Craunch,  Mr,  15,  16 ;  supplies  Joshua 
Reynolds  with  funds  for  prosecuting  his 
studies  abroad,  18 

Croker,  John  Wilson,  255 

"  Crossing  the  Brook,"  J.  M.  W.  Turner's, 
214 

"  Crucifixion,  The,"  E.  Bird's,  274 

"  Crypt  in  Kirkstall  Abbey,"  Mulready's,  277 

Cunningham,  Allan,  his  opinion  of  Barry, 
126  ;  his  criticism  of  Fuseli,  148  ;  his 
opinion  of  West,  192 

Cutliffe,  Mr,  16 

"  Cymbeline,"  George  Dawe's  scene  from, 
270 

"  Cymon  and  Iphigenia,"  Francis  Haward's, 
154 

DALL,  Nicholas  T.,  A.,  employed  as  scene 
painter  at  Covent  Garden,  158 


I    Dalton,  Richard,  Librarian  to  George  III., 

85  ;  appointed  Antiquary,  313 
i    Danby,    Francis,  A.,   birth  and  parentage 
of,   338  ;   pictures  by,  ib. ;  nature  of  his 
art,  339 

Danby,  Mrs  Ellen,  220,  222 

Dauby,  Georgina,  224 

Danby,  Hannah,  223,  224 

Dance,  George,  R.A.,  birth  of,  88 ; 
official  position,  ib. ;  profile  portraits 
of  Academicians  by,  ib.  ;  appointed  to 
examine  into  the  finances  of  the 
Academy,  89 ;  elected  Professor  of 
Architecture,  ib. ;  death,  ib. ;  appointed 
to  the  committee  to  inquire  into  the 
charges  against  Barry,  128  ;  his  art, 
169 

Dance,  Nathaniel,  R.A.,  birth  and  art  studies 
of,  89  ;  portraits  by,  90 ;  marriage,  ib. ; 
resigns  Academicianship,  90 ;  assumes 
the  name  of  Holland,  and  is  created  n 
Baronet,  ib. ;  death,  ib. 

Daniell,  Thomas,  R.A.,  birth  and  travels  of, 
20 1  ;  his  Oriental  Scenery ',  203 

Daniell,  William,  R.A.,  engraver  of  George 
Dance's  portraits,  88  ;  assists  his  uncle 
in  producing  Oriental  Scenery,  317  ;  works 
published  by,  318 

Dawe,  George,  R.A.,  parentage  and  educa- 
tion of,  270 ;  wins  the  gold  medal,  ib. ; 
pictures  by,  ib.,  271  ;  his  patrons,  ib.  ; 
fortune  amassed  by,  ib.  ;  death,  tf. ; 
his  character  and  friendship  with  George 
Morland,  272  ;  his  Life  of  M  or  land,  ib. 

"  Dead  Man,  The,"  Allston's,  301 

"Death  of  General  Wolfe,"  Barry's,  127; 
Penny's,  61  ;  West's,  96,  187,  190 

;<  Death  of  Eli,"  Bird's,  274 

"Death  of  Lord  Chatham,"  Copley's,  132 

"Death  of  Major  Pierson,"  Copley's,  134 

"  Death  of  Nelson,"  Heath's  engraving  of, 

155 

"Death  of  Sapphira,"  Bird's,  274 
"Deer-Stalking,"  James  Ward's,  258 
De    Loutherbourg,    Philip    James,    R.A., 

birth     of,     134;     his     "Lord     Howe's 

Victory,"  135  ;   his  influence  on  Turner, 

ib. ;  close  of  his  life,  136 
"Demoniac,"  George  Dawe's,  270 
Denman,  Ann,  207 
"  Descent  from  the  Cross,  The,"  V.  Green's 

plate  of,  153 

Desenfans,  Noel  and  Mrs,  182,  195 
"Dido    Building   Carthage,"    J.    M.    W. 

Turner's,   223 
Dickens,  Charles,  326 
Dilettanti     Society,    the,    project    of,    for 

creating  a  public  Academy,  7 
Dinner,  the  Annual,  313 
Diploma  Works,  List  of,  370376 


INDEX 


403 


Diplomas  to  Academicians,  the  form  of, 
31;  those  given  to  Professors,  60;  to 
Associates,  III 

Discourses  of  the  Presidents,  4,  13; 
Reynolds'  analysed,  21-24  5  quoted,  80 

Dissertation  on  Oriental  Gardening,  Sir 
William  Chambers',  47 

Dobson,  William,  4 

Dover,  Lady,  J.  Jackson's  portrait  of,  282 

Downing  College,  the  design  of,  322 

Downman,  John,  A.,  birth  and  art  education 
of,  294  ;  death,  295 

Drummond,  Samuel,  A.,  birth  of,  298 ; 
elected  Curator  of  the  Painting  School, 
299 ;  pictures  by,  ib. ;  his  difficulties 
and  death,  ib. 

Drummonds,  Messrs,  appointed  Bankers  to 
the  Academy,  179 

Dulwich  Picture  Gallery,  The,  the  foun- 
dation of,  182,  183  ;  connection  of  with 
the  Royal  Academy,  183 ;  the  art 
treasures  of,  195 

Dunthorne,  John,  332 

Dutch  painters,  the  works  of,  2  ;  influence 
of  on  Gainsborough,  71 

"EARLY  MORNING,"  William  Collins's, 
292 

Eastlake,  Sir  Charles,  P.R.A.,  326 

Edridge,  Henry,  A.,  117;  birth  and 
parentage  of,  336  ;  encouraged  by  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  ib. ;  death  of,  337  ; 
his  bequest  to  the  Academy,  ib. 

Edward  VII.,  H.M.  King,  sentiments  of 
towards  the  Academy,  341 

Edwards,  Edward,  A.,  his  candidature  for  the 
Professorship  of  Perspective,  37  ;  elected 
Teacher  of  Perspective,  159;  literary 
ventures  by,  160 

Elections,  mode  of  voting  at,  113 

Elmer,  Stephen,  A.,  a  member  of  the  Free 
Society  of  Artists,  159;  subjects  of  his 
pictures,  ib. ;  occupation  and  death  of,  ib. 

"Elmer's  Sporting  Exhibition,"  159 

Engleheart,  Thomas,  defeats  Flaxman  in 
the  competition  for  the  gold  medal,  207 

Engravers,  admission  of  to  Academician- 
ship,  297,  327 

Essay  on  Painting,  Richardson's,  189 

Essays  towards  the  History  of  Painting,  Mrs 
Graham's,  249 

Etty,  William,  R.A.,  birth  and  parentage  of, 
328  ;  art  studies  of,  329  ;  his  first  picture, 
ib. ;  his  studies  in  the  Academy  School, 
330;  pictures  by,  331  ;  death,  ib. 

"  Experiment  with  an  Air  Pump,  An," 
J.  Wright's,  163 


FALCONET,    his 
Reynolds,  17 


medallion     portrait    of 


''Falling  Titan,  A,"  Thomas  Banks's,  137 

Farington,  Joseph,  R.A.,  appointed  to 
the  committee  to  request  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  to  withdraw  his  resignation, 
42  ;  on  the  committee  to  consider  the 
charges  against  Barry,  128  ;  activity  in 
the  government  of  the  Academy,  139; 
his  acquaintance  with  Constable,  333 

Faulkner,  R.N.,  Captain  Robert,  monu- 
ment to,  in  St  Paul's,  237 

Fawkes  of  Farnley,  Mr,  221 

"  Fight  Interrupted,  The,"  Mulready's,  278 

"Fighting  Ttmeraire,  The,"  J.  M.  W. 
Turner's,  214,  219 

Finances,  177 

Fisher,  Kitty,  20 

"  Fishery,  The,"  Richard  Wright's,  163 

Fittler,  James,  A.E.,  plates  by,  296 

Flaxman,  John,  R.A.,  supports  a  proposal 
to  erect  a  monument  to  the  glory  of  the 
British  Navy,  141  ;  the  first  holder  of 
the  Professorship  of  Sculpture,  179 ; 
genius  of,  202  ;  career  of,  203  ;  works 
by,  204,  205  ;  his  art  as  a  sculptor,  205  ; 
his  connection  with  Wedgwood,  206 ; 
birth  and  parentage  of,  207  ;  is  defeated 
by  Engleheart  in  the  competition  for  the 
gold  medal,  ib. ;  marriage  of,  ib.  ;  goes 
to  Rome,  208  ;  returns  to  London, 
ib. ;  elected  Professor  of  Sculpture,  209  ; 
monuments  by,  ib.\  his  "Shield  of 
Achilles,"  ib.  ;  his  death,  ib.  ;  Sir 
Richard  Westmacott's  eulogy  of,  262  ; 
Jackson's  portrait  of  him,  282 

Foundling  Hospital,  the,  exhibition  of 
pictures  for  the  benefit  of,  9 

Freemason's  Hall,  designed  by  T.  Sandby, 
63 

Fresnoy,  Du,  his  "Art  of  Painting,"  124, 
189 

"Frosty  Morning,"  J.  M.  W.  Turner's, 
214,  215 

Fuller,  Isaac,  4 

Fuseli,  Henry,  R.A.,  elected  Academician, 
38,  39 ;  his  endowments,  145  ;  birth  and 
parentage  of,  ib. ;  his  intimacy  with 
Lavater,  146  ;  studies  in  Italy,  ib. ;  his 
conception  of  art,  ib. ;  elected  Professor 
of  Painting,  ib. ;  starts  the  Milton  gallery, 
147;  elected  Keeper,  t'6.;  admiration  of 
Mary  Moser  and  Mary  Wollstonecraft  for 
him,  ib.\  Reynolds'  estimate  of  his  talents, 
148  ;  his  audacity  as  an  author,  ib. ; 
Allan  Cunningham's  criticism  of  him,  ib. ; 
death  and  burial,  ib. ;  the  story  of  his 
vote  for  Mary  Moser  at  West's  re-election 
to  the  Presidency,  193 

GAINSBOROUGH,  Thomas,  R.A.,  the  paint- 
ings of,  6;  joins  the  Society  of  Artists,  n ; 


404 


INDEX 


his  quarrel  with  the  Academy,  35;  his 
difference  from  Reynolds,  69  ;  parentage 
of,  ib.  ;  character  of,  70,  74  ;  art  educa- 
tion of,  70  ;  influence  of  Dutch  painters 
on,  71  ;  portrait  of,  ib. ;  his  wedded  life, 
72  ;  letter  written  on  his  deathbed  to  Rey- 
nolds, ib. ;  tribute  to  him  by  Reynolds, 
73 ;  his  portraits  of  women,  75 ;  his 
letters  to  William  Jackson,  the  musician, 
ib.,  76 ;  his  coarseness  as  a  man,  and 
his  refinement  as  an  artist,  ib. ;  self- 
reliant  nature  of,  76 ;  his  merits  as 
an  artist,  77  ;  his  picture  of  Mrs 
Sheridan,  79 ;  his  picture  of  "  The 
Sisters,"  80  ;  his  landscapes,  8l  ;  Ruskin's 
opinion  of  his  art,  ib. 

Gandy,  Joseph,  A.,  gains  the  gold  medal, 
296  ;  death  of,  297 

Garrard,  George,  A.,  295  ;  his  works,  296 ; 
death,  ib. 

Garrick,  David,  rescues  Zoffany  from 
obscurity,  107  ;  portrait  of  as  Abel 
Drugger,  ib. 

Garvey,  Edmund,  R.A.,  elected  Associate, 
H3>  !36,  165  ;  merit  of  his  landscapes, 
136  ;  death  of,  ib. 

George  III.,  H.M.  King,  founder  and 
patron,  28  ;  his  interest  in  the  Academy, 
29  ;  his  action  in  the  dispute  between 
the  Council  and  General  Assembly  of 
the  Academy,  172-176  ;  control  exercised 
by  him  over  the  Academy,  1 79  ;  Wyatt's 
statue  of,  284 

George  IV.,  H.M.  King,  Chantrey's 
statue  of,  284 ;  the  interest  taken 
by  him  in  the  Academy,  310;  gold 
chain  and  medal  presented  by  him, 

"George  IV.  entering  Holyrood  House," 

Wilkie's,  255 
Gibbon,    Edward,    writes    to    Sir    Joshua  , 

Reynolds    on    his    resignation    of    the  j 

Presidency,  41 
Gibson,  Richard,  117 
Gibson  Gallery,  the,  works  in,  382 
Gilpin,  Sawrey,  R.A.,  37  ;  birth  of,  200 ;   j 

becomes  a  pupil  of  Samuel  Scott,  ib. ;   j 

his  pictures,  ib. ;  death  of,  ib. 
"Gipsy  Boy,  The,"  E.  Bird's,  274 
"  Gipsy  Girl,"  Lawrence's,  309 
Girtin,  Thomas,  his  influence  on  J.  M.  W. 

Turner,  216 

"  Giving  a  Bite,"  Mulready's,  279 
Goldsmith,  Oliver,  appointed  Professor  of 

Ancient  History,  313 
Gold  Medallists,  lists  of,  384-392 
Gower,  Countess,  Lawrence's  portrait  of, 

309 

Graham,  John,  education  of  Wilkie  at  the 
school  of,  251 


"Granby,  Marquis  of."  Penny's,  6 1 
Green,    Valentine,    A.E.,   engravings    by, 

153 

Guildhall,  the,  88 
Gwynn,  John,  R.A.,  65,  102 

HADFIELD,  Maria,  marriage  of,  118 

"  Hagar  and  Ishmael,"   Benjamin   West's 

picture  of,    176 

Haileybury  College,  the  design  for,  321 
Hamilton,  William,  R.A.,  on  the  committee 

to  consider  the  charges   against  Barry, 

128  ;  birth  of,  145  ;  death  of,  ib. 
Handbook    to      Young     Painters,     Leslie's, 

326 
"  Hannibal     Swearing      Enmity     to     the 

Romans,"  V.  Green's  plate  of,  153 
"  Happy  as   a  King,"    William   Collins's, 

293 

Haward,  Francis,  A.E.,  154 
"  Hay  Wain,  The,"  Constable's,  334 
Haydon,  Benjamin  Robert,  250 
Hayman,  Francis,  R.  A.,  birth  of,  54  ;  artistic 

rank   of,   54,   55  ;    appointed    Librarian, 

55  ;  death  of,  ib. 
Hazlitt,  his  statement  of  contradictions  in 

Reynolds'  discourses,  23 
Heath,  James,  A.E.,  engravings  by,  154 
Heathcote,    Sir   Thomas,   liberality  of,   to 

William  Collins,  292 
"Her  Majesty's  First  Council,"  Wilkie's, 

254 

Heroic  Epistle,  The,  49 

Hibernian  Academy,  the  Royal,  the 
founding  of,  311 

Hilliard,  Nicholas,  3,  117;  his  work, 
118 

Hilton,  William,  R.A..  parentage  and  ait 
education  of,  288  ;  his  studies,  ib. ;  sub- 
jects selected  by,  ib. ;  elected  Keeper, 
289 ;  works  by,  ib. ;  death  of,  ib. 

"  His  Satanic  Majesty,"  Lawrence's,  310 

History  of  the  Works  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
P.R.A.,  Graves'  and  Cronin's,  25 

Hoare,  Prince,  \\vs>  Academic  Correspondence, 
1 80  ;  his  Academic  Annals,  ib. 

Hoare,  William,  R.A.,  84  ;  birth  of,  106  ; 
pictures  by,  ib. ;  death  of,  ib. 

Hodges,  William,  R.A.,  birth  and  parentage 
of,  144 ;  studies  in  Shipley's  School, 
ib. 

Hogarth,  the  paintings  of,  6  ;  his  connec- 
tion with  the  School  of  Art  in  St 
Martin's  Lane,  7 ;  his  letter  on  the 
project  of  the  Dilettanti  Society  for 
creating  a  public  Academy,  ib. ;  executes 
plates  for  the  catalogue  of  the  Society  of 
Artists,  10 

Hogarth,  Mrs,  178 

Hone,  Horace,  A.,  parentage  of,  161 


INDEX 


405 


Hone,  Nathaniel,  R.A.,  117;  his  quarrel 
with  the  Council  and  with  Angelica 
Kauffman,  33-35  ;  birth  of,  103  ;  carica- 
tures by,  ib. ;  death  of,  ib. 

Honorary  Members  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
list  of,  368-369 

Honorary   Foreign    Academicians,    list   of,  j 

359 

Honorary  Retired  Members,  list  of,  363 
Hoppner,  John,  R.A.,  on  the  committee  to  I 

consider  the  charges  against  Barry,  128  ;  j 

life   of,    199 ;   his   merits   as   a   painter, 

ib. 
Howard,  Henry,  R.A.,  birth  and  education 

of,  242  ;  elected  Secretary,  and  Professor 

of  Painting,  ib. ;  his  art,  243 
"Howe's    Victory,    Lord,"    De    Louther- 

bourg's,  135 
Hudson,   Thomas,   Sir    Joshua    Reynolds 

studies  under,  17 
Humphrey,    Ozias,    R.A.,   117;    birth    of, 

150;  his  paintings,  ib.  ;  death  of,  ib. 
Hunter,  Dr  William,  elected   Professor  of 

Anatomy,  59,  66  ;  birth  and  early  studies 

of,  67  ;  lectures  of,  ib. ;  papers  contributed 

by   him    to   medical    journals,   ib. ;    his 

collection,  ib. 

"INFANT  ACADEMY,"  F.  Haward's,  154 
Instrument,   The,   creating   the  Academy, 

12,  31,  58,  84,  no ;  text  of,  345 
"  Irving,    Washington,"     C.    R.    Leslie's 

portrait  of,  324 
Italian  Renaissance,  the,  Art  of,  92 

JACKSON,  John,  R.A.,  250  ;  parentage  of, 
281  ;  attracts  the  notice  of  Lord  Mul- 
grave,  281  ;  his  appreciation  of  fine 
works  of  the  Old  Masters,  282 ;  number 
of  pictures  exhibited  by  him,  ib. ;  death, 
283 

Jackson,  William,  Gainsborough's  letters 
addressed  to,  75 

"Jacob's  Dream,"  Allston's,  301 

James,  George,  A.,  first  painter  elected  an 
Associate,  155 

"John  Knox,"  Wilkie's,  254;  Chalon's, 
280 

Johnson,  Dr  Samuel,  writes  a  preface  to  the 
Catalogue  of  the  Society  of  Artists,  10 ; 
monument  to,  in  St  Paul's,  43  ;  Professor 
of  Ancient  Literature,  313 

Jones,  George,  R.A.,  parentage  of,  320  ;  the 
result  of  his  visits  to  foreign  Schools  of 
Art,  ib. ;  pictures  by  him,  ib. ;  elected 
Librarian  and  Keeper,  ib. ;  presentation 
to  by  students,  321  ;  acts  as  Deputy  to 
Sir  M.  A.  Shee,  ib. ;  his  resemblance  to 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  ib. 

Jordan's  Meeting  House,  186 


Joseph,    George    Francis,   A.,   fashionable 

portrait  painter,  300 
"Judith  pictures,"  Etty's,  331 

KAUFFMAN,  Angelica,  R.A.,  her  objection 
to  N.  Hone's  picture  of  the  "  Pictorial 
Conjurer,"  34  ;  her  claims  as  an  artist, 
91  ;  birth  of,  92  ;  her  secret  marriage  with 
Brandt,  93  ;  marries  Antonio  Zucchi,  ib. ; 
pictures  executed  by  her  in  Italy,  94  ; 
death  and  burial  of,  ib.  ;  conventionality 
of  her  art,  95 

Keepers  of  the  Royal  Academy,  list  of, 
365 

"  Kemble,  John,  as  Hamlet,"  Lawrence's, 
310 

Keppel,  Commodore,  18 

Kilchurn  Castle,  J.  M.  W.  Turner's 
drawing  of,  216 

"Kirkstall  Abbey,"  J.  M.  W.  Turner's, 
230 

Knapton,  George,  86 

"  Knaresborough,"  J.  M,  W.  Turner's,  217, 
219 

LAMBETH   PALACE,  Turner's  drawing  of, 

211 

"  Lambton,  Master,"  Lawrence's,  309 
Landscapes  of  the  eighteenth  century,  81 
Landseer,  John,  A.E.,   parentage  and  art 
education  of,  297  ;  champions  the  admis- 
sion of  Engravers  to  full  membership  of 
the  Academy,  ib. ;  starts  The  Probe,  298; 
death  of,  ib. 

Lane,  Richard  James,  A.E.,  birth  and 
parentage  of,  339 ;  appointed  Litho- 
grapher to  the  Queen,  ib. ;  death  of, 

340 

Lawrence,  Sir  Thomas,  P.R.A.,  on  the  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  charges  against 
Barry,  128  ;  parentage  of,  303  ;  his  versa- 
tility, ib. ;  appearance  and  precocity,  304  ; 
education,  305  ;  his  habit  of  flattering, 
ib. ;  his  introduction  to  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds, ib.  ;  his  success  as  a  portrait 
painter,  306 ;  elected  painter  to  the 
Dilettanti  Society,  and  principal  painter 
in  ordinary  to  the  King,  ib. ;  is  knighted, 
307  ;  his  industry,  ib. ;  historic  portraits 
by,  ib.  ;  honours  conferred  on,  308  ; 
elected  President,  ib. ;  death  and  burial 
of,  ib. ;  pall-bearers  at  his  funeral,  ib. ; 
portraits  by,  309;  his  "Sitters'  Chair," 
ib. ;  his  portraits  of  exatled  personages, 
310  ;  popularity  of  his  election  as  Presi- 
dent, ib.\  his  benevolence,  311;  his 
collection  of  drawings  and  works  by 
Old  Masters,  312 

Lectures,  objects  of  the,  59  ;  not  to  contain 
criticisms  on  living  artists,  233 


406 


INDEX 


Leighton,  Sir  Frederic  (Lord  Leighton),  I 
P.R.A.,  presents  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds'  i 
"  Sitters'  Chair  "  to  the  Royal  Academy,  I 
26 

Leslie  and  Taylor's  Life  of  Reynolds,  37,  326 
Leslie,  C.  R.,  R.A.,  280;  parentage  of,  322;  ! 
birth    of,    323  ;    education    of,    ib. ;    his  \ 
portrait    of    George    Frederick    Cooke,  j 
324  ;  art  education  of,  ib. ;  portraits  by,  I 
ib. ;    accepts   the  appointment  of  draw-  | 
ing  master  at  West  Point,  U.S.A.,  325  ;  | 
returns  to  England,  ib.  ;  his  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Academy,  ib. ;  his  proposals 
as  to  the  number  of  works  to  be  sent  ' 
into   the   Academy,   ib.,    326 ;     various  j 
other   proposals,    ib.  ;   elected    Professor  : 
of  Painting,  ih.  ;    publications   by,   ib. ;  i 
the    intimate   friends    of,   ib. ;  death  of,  ; 
ib. ;    Thackeray's   tribute   to  him,    327  ; 
his  sons,  ib. 
Leslie,  Robert,  323 
Librarians  of  the  Royal  Academy,  list  of, 

366 

Library  of  the  Royal  Academy,  the,  382 
Lindisfarne  Gospels,  the,  116 
Little  Arthur's  History  of  England,  249 
"  Love  pursuing  a  Butterfly,"  T.  Banks's, 

137 
Lyric  Odes  to  the  Royal  Academicians,  loo 

M'DOWELL,   P.,    R.A.,  monument   by,  to 

Turner,  225 
Maclise,  Daniel,  R.A.,  designs  the  Turner 

gold  medal,  226 

Magdalen  Bridge,  Oxford,  design  for,  102 
"  Maid  of  Saragossa,"  Wilkie's,  254 
Major,    Thomas,    A.E.,    the    first    elected 

Associate  Engraver,  151 
Marble  Arch,  The,  Bas-reliefs  on,  317 
Marchant,  Nathaniel,  R.A.,  gem  sculptor, 

245 

"  Marriage  of  Cana,"  P.  Veronese's,  19 
"  Marston  Moor,"  A.  Cooper's,  290 
Martin,  David,  his  influence  on  Sir  Henry 

Raeburn,  275 
Martin,   Elias,  A.,  birth  of,  156;  pictures 

by,  ib. ;  his  death,  ib. 
Marylebone  Cricket  Club,  the,  55 
Matthew,  Mr  and  Mrs,  207 
Mengs,  Raphael,  92  ;  his  opinion  of  Rey- 
nolds' Discourses,  23 

Meyer,  Jeremiah,  R.A.,  birth  of,  103  ;  pro- 
poses a  charitable  fund  for  Academicians 
or  Associates,  ib. 
"  Milkmaid's  Song,  The,"  66 
Milton  Gallery,  the,  147 
Miniature  Painters,  3,  116,  117 
"  Miss  Angel,"  see  Kauffman,  Angelica 
Modern  Painters,  the  sentiments  expressed 
in,  216 


Monuments  in  Westminster  Abbey  and  St 
Paul's,  absurdity  of  many  of,  237,  261 

More.  Hannah,  Pickersgill's  portrait  of,  328 

Morland,  George,  his  influence  on  James 
Ward,  257,  272,  291  ;  his  friendship  with 
G.  Daws,  272  ;  advice  to  W.  Collins,  291 

"  Morning  Greeting,  The,"  66 

Mortimer,  John  Hamilton,  A.,  birth  of,  160; 
art  studies  of,  ib. ;  picture  of  him  at  the 
Academy,  161  ;  his  death,  ib. ;  picture 
by,  ib. 

Moser,  Geo.  Michael,  R.A.,  8  ;  his  design 
for  the  headpiece  of  the  diploma,  31  ; 
elected  the  first  Keeper  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  51  ;  his  influence,  ih.  •  Rey- 
nolds' eulogium  of,  53 ;  death  and 
funeral  of,  ib. 

Moser,  Mary,  R.A.,  51  ;  only  known  as  a 
flower  painter,  90 ;  marriage  and  death 
of,  91  ;  letter  from,  to  Hemy  Fuseli,  107  ; 
her  admiration  for  Fuseli,  147 

"  Mother  rescuing  her  Child  from  an 
Eagle's  Nest,"  Dawe's,  270 

Mulgiave,  Lord,  252,  281 

Mulready,  William,  R.A.,  birth  and  art 
education  of,  277  ;  his  "Crypt  in  Kirk- 
stall  Abbey,"  ib.  ;  his  character,  278  ;  his 
marriage,  279  ;  death  of,  ib. ;  art  of,  it>. 

Munro,  Mr.  213,  221 

"  Murder,"  C.  R.  Leslie's,  325 

NATIONAL  GALLERY,  The,  foundation  of, 
311  ;  Wilkins's  design  for,  323 

14  Negro  and  a  Buffalo,"  Dawe's,  270 

"  Nelson  boarding  the  San  Josef]'  James's, 
320 

Nelson's  statue,  316 

Newgate,  design  for,  88 

Newton,  Francis  Milner,  R.A.,  8  ;  elected 
first  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Academy,  49; 
presentation  to  him  on  his  retirement,  50 

Nixon,  James,  A.,  one  of  the  first  students 
of  the  Academy,  161 

Nollekens,  Joseph,  R.A.,  birth  and 
parentage  of,  119;  is  apprenticed  to 
Scheemakers,  120  ;  his  eminence  as  a 
sculptor,  ib. ;  his  marriage  and  life,  ib.  ; 
death  of,  121 

Nollekens   and   his    Times,   J.    T.  Smith's, 

120,  121 

Northcote,  James,  R.A.,  birth  of,  142  ;  he 
works  in  Reynolds'  studio,  143 ;  his 
penuriousness,  ib. ;  his  writings,  144 

OBLIGATION,  The,  44 

O'Brien,  Nelly,  20;  Reynolds'  portrait  of,  75 

Officers  of  the  Royal  Academy,  first  appoint- 
ment of,  45  ;  list  of,  364-366 

Oliver,  Archer  James,  A.,  curator  of  the 
Painting  School,  298 

Oliver,  Isaac,  3,  117 


INDEX 


407 


Oliver,  Peter,  3,  117 

Opie,  John,  R.A.,  birth  of,  139  ;  introduced 
to  London,  140  ;  parentage  of,  ib.  ;  the 
art  of,  141  ;  his  proposal  for  erecting 
a  monument  to  the  British  Navy,  ib. ;  is 
appointed  Professor  of  Painting,  142  ;  his 
marriage,  ib. ;  his  death,  ib. 

Oriental  Scenery,  Daniell's,  2OI,  317 

Owen,  William,  R.A.,  birth  and  parentage 
of,  239;  his  "Perdita,"  240;  his  popular- 
ity as  a  portrait  painter,  ib. ;  his  art,  ib. 

PAINTING,  the  English  Art  of,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  6 

Painting,  Professorship  of,  founded,  58 ; 
list  of  Professors,  366-367 

Painting  School,  foundation  of,  183 

"  Pandora  crowned  by  the  Seasons,"  Etty's, 
330 

"  Parish  Beadle,"  Wilkie's,  253 

Parry,  William,  A.,  birth  and  parentage  of, 
1 60  ;  art  education  of,  ib. 

Pars,  William,  A.,  birth  of,  157  ;  studies 
of,  ib.  ;  his  connection  with  the  Dilettanti 
Society,  ib. ;  his  works,  158 

Peake,  Sir  Robert,  3 

Penny,  Edward,  R,A.,  elected  Professor  of 
Painting,  58  ;  secedes  from  the  Society 
of  Artists,  6 1  ;  his  birth  and  art  educa- 
tion, ib. ;  works  of,  ib. ;  his  influence 
amongst  his  fellow-artists,  62  ;  his  lec- 
tures, ib.  ;  circumstances  and  death  of,  ib. 

"  Penny  Wedding,  The,"  Wilkie's,  254 

Pensions,  178 

"  Perdita,"  William  Owen's,  240 

Perspective,  Professorship  of,  founded,  58  ; 
list  of  Professors,  368 

Peters,  William,  R.A.,  birth  and  early 
art  education  of,  1 30 ;  is  ordained,  ib.  ; 
appointed  Hon.  Chaplain,  ib. ;  resigns, 

Phillips,    Thomas,    R.A.,    his   portraits  of 

eminent   men,    243 ;    art    education    of, 

244  ;  elected  Professor  of  Painting,  245  ; 

his  art,  ib. 
"  Phryne  going  to  the   Bath,"  J.   M.  W. 

Turner's,  218 
Picker sgill,    Henry    William,     R.A.,    art 

education   of,    327  ;    portraits  by,    328  ; 

elected  Librarian,  ib. ;  death  of,  ib. 
•'Pictorial  Conjurer,"  N.  Hone's,  34,  161 
Pictures    and    other    objects    of    interest 

belonging  to  the  Academy,  list  of,  377-38 1 
Picturesque  Voyage  to  Inaia^  A .,  Daniel!  's,  3 1 8 
"Pitlessie  Fair,"  Wilkie's,  251 
Plate,  Silver,  presented  by  members,  381 
Presidents  of  the  Academy,  list  of,  364 
Prince  Consort,  H.R.H.,  the,   Speech  at 

the  Annual  Dinner,  1851,  340 
Probe,  The,  298 


"  Procession  to  Mount  Calvary,  The,"  G. 
F.  Joseph's,  300 

Professors,  the,  duties  of,  59 ;  list  of,  366- 
368 

"  Prometheus  bound  to  the  Rock,"  Flax- 
man's,  205 

Proxy,  voting  by,  at  elections,  1 14 

"  QUAKER  FAMILY,"  West's,  190 

RAEBURN,  Sir  Henry,  R.A.,  parentage  and 
education  of,  275  ;  influence  of  David 
Martin  on  him,  ib.  ;  elected  President  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  Artists  in  Edin- 
burgh, 276  ;  number  of  portraits  by  him, 
ib. ;  is  knighted,  ib. ;  appointed  King's 
Limner  for  Scotland,  ib. ;  death  of,  277  ; 
his  art,  ib. 

"  Raffle  for  the  Watch,"  E.  Bird's,  274 

"  Rake's  Progress,"  Hogarth's,  229 

Ramsay,  Allan,  267 

"  Rape  of  Ganymede,"  Hilton's,  289 

"Raphael  and  the  Fornarina,"  Sir  A.  W. 
Callcott's,  248 

Raport,  Mr,  15 

Ravenet,  S.  F.,  A.E.,  birth  of,  and  engrav- 
ings by,  152 

Raymond's  History  of  England,  S.  Wale's 
illustrations  in,  66 

Read,  Miss  Lucy,  303 

Rebecca,  Biagio,  A.,  parentage  and  birth  of, 
158  ;  decorative  work  by,  tl. ;  death  of,  ib. 

Reinagle,  Philip,  R.A.,  267  ;  studies  under 
Allan  Ramsay,  ib. ;  poverty  of,  268  ; 
death  of,  ib. 

Reinagle,  Ramsay  Richard,  R.A.,  fraud 
committed  by,  318  ;  receives  pecuniary 
assistance,  319  ;  death  of,  ib. 

"Return  of  Regulus  to  Carthage,  The," 
V.  Green's  plate  of,  153 

Reynolds,  The  Life  of,  Leslie  and  Taylor's, 
37,  326 

Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  P.R.A.,  8  ;  on  the 
roll  of  the  Society  of  Artists,  II  ;  holds 
aloof  from  the  Society  of  Artists  and  the 
Seceders,  12  ;  first  Discourse,  1 3  ;  his  early 
drawings,  1 5  ;  the  first  utterance  by  him 
which  has  been  handed  down,  16  ;  em- 
braces the  artist's  profession,  ib. ;  begins 
his  life-work  under  Thomas  Hudson, 
17  ;  the  turning-point  of  his  life,  1 8  ; 
in  Italy,  19  ;  pictures  first  exhibited  by 
him  after  his  return,  ib.  ;  houses  occupied 
by  him,  ib.  ;  his  friendship  with  Dr 
Johnson,  ib.  ;  his  friendship  with  Edmund 
Burke,  ib. ;  his  sitters,  20  ;  partial  blind- 
ness and  death  of,  ib. ;  his  connection 
with  the  Academy,  21  ;  his  Discourses, 
ib.  ;  his  estimate  of  the  Old  Masters, 
22  ;  not  free  from  the  prejudices  of  his 


408 


INDEX 


time,  ib. ;  contradictions  in  his  Discourses, 
23  ;  his  art,  24,  27  ;  his  character,  25  ; 
his  industry,  ib. ;  his  notebooks,  26  ;  the 
date  of  his  knighthood,  ib. ;  his  "  Sitters' 
Chair,"  ib. ;  his  formal  election  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Royal  Academy,  31  ;  his  re- 
elections,  32  ;  his  assiduity  in  discharging 
his  functions,  32  ;  differences  between  him 
and  the  Academy,  37  ;  his  resignation, 
39  ;  public  feeling  on  his  resignation, 
40 ;  requested  to  withdraw  his  resigna- 
tion, 42  ;  his  portrait  of  Mrs  Sheridan, 
79  ;  his  advice  to  West  when  painting 
his  picture  of  Wolfe,  96  ;  his  estimate  of 
Fuseli's  talent,  148 ;  his  death,  167  ; 
funeral  of,  1 68  ;  pall  -  bearers  at  his 
funeral,  ib. ;  monument  to,  ib. 
Reynolds,  Rev.  Samuel,  14 
Rhymes  on  Art,  Sir  M.  A.  Shee's,  181 
Richards,  John  Inigo,  R.A.,  his  employment 
at  Covent  Garden,  96  ;  elected  Secretary, 
ib. ;  repairs  Leonardo  da  Vinci's  Cartoon, 

97 

Richardson's,  Jonathan,  Treatise  on  Paint- 
ing, its  influence  on  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 

4,  15 
Richmond's,    the     Duke     of,    gallery    of 

antiques,  9,  101 
Rigaud,  John   Francis,  R.A.,  one  of  the 

first  twenty f  Associates,  136;  appointed 

Deputy  Librarian,  ib. 
Riley,  John,  4 
Rimbault,  Stephen,  107 
"Rivaulx    Abbey,"    J.    M.   W.   Turner's, 

217 
Robinson  Crusoe,  Stothard's  illustrations  to, 

248 
"  Roger  de    Coverley  going  to  Church, 

Sir,"  C.  R.  Leslie's,  324 
Roger  des  Piles,  92 
Roman  de  la  Rose,  the,  1 1 6 
Romney,  George,  the  art  of,  169 
Rooker,  Michael   Angelo,  A.,  one  of  the 

first  elected  Associates,   157  ;  his  views 

of  Oxford  Colleges,  ib.  ;    his  contribu- 
tions to  the  Academy,  ib. 
Rossi,  John  Charles  Felix,  R.A.,  birth  and 

education  of,  236  ;   monuments  by  him 

in    Westminster    and    St    Paul's,    237  ; 

death  of,  238 
"  Royal     Academy     Club     in     Marybone 

Fields,"  F.  Hayman's,  55 
Royal  Patronage,  the  importance  attached   • 

to,  29 

Ruskin,  John,  quoted,  99,  212,  221 
Russell,  John,  R.A.,  on  the  committee  to 

request  Sir  J.  Reynolds  to  withdraw  his 

letter    of    resignation,    42 ;     birth    and 

parentage     of,    144 ;    his    vogue    as    a 

portrait  painter,  ib. 


"  Rustic  Civility,"  William  Collins's,  293 

Sacred  History,  S.  Wale's  illustrations  in, 
66 

"Sacrifice  to  Minerva,  A,"  Biagio 
Rebecca's,  158 

"  Sailor  Boy's  Return,"  Bigg's,  273 

St  George's  Hospital,  the  design  for,  322 

"  St  John  preaching  in  the  Wilderness," 
John  Browne's  plate  of,  152 

St  Martin's  Lane,  the  school  of  art  in,  7 

St  Paul's  Cathedral,  the  decoration  of, 
127 

"St  Paul  .preaching  to  the  Britons," 
Mortimer's,  161 

"Sale  of  a  Pet  Lamb,  The,"  William 
Collins's,  291 

"  Samson  and  Delilah,"  Chalon's,  280 

Sandby,  Paul,  R.A.,  birth  of,  105  ; 
draughtsman  to  the  Survey  of  Scotland, 
ib.  ;  appointed  Chief  Drawing  Master  at 
the  Royal  Military  Academy,  Woolwich, 
ib.  ;  his  water-colour  drawings,  ib. 

Sandby,  Thomas,  R.A.,  8;  on  the  committee 
to  request  Sir  J.  Reynolds  to  withdraw  his 
letter  of  resignation,  42  ;  elected  Pro- 
fessor of  Architecture,  58  ;  birth  of,  63  ; 
political  services  rendered  by,  »/5.  ; 
appointed  Deputy  Ranger  of  Windsor 
Great  Park,  ib.  ;  designs  Freemasons' 
Hall,  ib.  ;  creates  Virginia  Water,  ib.  ; 
his  lectures,  64  ;  death  of,  ib. 

"Scene  from  Coriolanus,  A,"  G.  F.  Joseph's, 
300 

11  Scene  on  the  River  Stour,"  Constable's, 

335 

Scene  painter,  art  of  the,  135 
Schools  of  the  Royal  Academy,  13,  39,  45, 

170  ;  system  of  teaching  in,  52,  53,  312 
Scott,    Sir    Walter,    appointed    Honorary 

Antiquary,  312  ;  C.   R.  Leslie's  portrait 

of,  324  ;  his  friendship  with  Leslie,  326 
Scottish  Academy,  the   Royal,  foundation 

of,  311 
Sculpture,   Professorship  of,  59 ;  founded. 

179  ;  list  of  Professors,  367 
Secretaries   of    the   Academy,    changes   in 

mode  of  appointment,  46  ;  list  of,  364 
Segar,  Francis,  3,  117 
Segar,  William,  3,  117 
Serres,    Dominic,   R.A.,   appointed  marine 

painter    to    the    King,    97  ;    appointed 

Librarian,  ib.  ;  his  pictures,  ib. 
Shakespeare  Gallery,  Alderman  Boydell's, 

136,  143,  295  ;  the  purchase  of,  181 
Sharpe,  Samuel,  67 
Shee,  Sir  Martin  Archer,  P.R.A.,  his  Rhymes 

on  Art,  181  ;  money  voted  to,  286 
Sheldon,    John,    Professor    of    Anatomy, 

60 


INDEX 


409 


Sheridan,  Mrs,  Gainsborough's  portrait  of, 
79  ;  Reynolds'  portrait  of,  ib. 

'  Shield  of  Achilles,  The,"  Flaxman's,  209 

Shipley's  Drawing  School,  114,  120 

"  Shipwrecked  Sailor  Boy,"  Bigg's,  273 

"  Shrimpers,"  William  Collins's,  293 

"Sibyl,"  J.  M.  W.  Turner's,  214 

"Siddons,  Mrs,  as  the  Tragic  Muse,"  F. 
Haward's  plate  of,  154 

Siddons,  Mrs,  20,  305,  307 

"  Sir  Calepine  rescuing  Serena,"  Hilton's, 
289 

"  Sisters,  The,"  Gainsborough's,  80 

Sketching  Club,  The,  founders  of,  280 

"  Sleep  and  Death,"  Flaxman's,  205 

"Sleeping  Children,"  Chantrey's,  284 

"Sleeping  Girl,  The,"  Henry  Bone's  plate 
of,  266 

Smirke,  Robert,  R.A.,  on  the  committee  to 
consider  the  charges  against  Barry,  128  ; 
birth  of,  193;  elected  Keeper,  199;  George 
III.  vetoes  his  election,  ib. ;  death  of, 
it. 

Smirke,  Sir  Robert,  R.A.,  262  ;  birth  and 
parentage  of,  264  ;  public  buildings  by, 
264,  265  ;  elected  Treasurer,  265  ;  his 
resignation,  ib.  ;  his  death,  266 

Smith,  Anker,  A.E.,  295  ;  plates  by,  ib. 

Smith's,  John  Thomas,  Nollekens  and  his 
Times,  120 

Soane,  Sir  John,  R.A.,  suspended  from  the 
Council  of  the  Academy,  172 ;  his 
museum,  228  ;  birth  and  early  art  educa- 
tion of,  230 ;  his  good  fortune,  231  ; 
appointments  held  by,  ib. ;  elected  Pro- 
fessor of  Architecture,  232  ;  his  Professor- 
ship declared  vacant,  234,  235  ;  resumes 
his  office,  ib.  ;  his  offer  towards  the  pur- 
chase of  Sir  T.  Lawrence's  collection  of 
Old  Masters'  drawings,  236 

Soane  Museum,  The,  228 

Society  of  Arts,  The,  decoration  of  the  hall 
of,  127 

Somerset  House,  the  first  home  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  48 

"Spithead,"  J.  M.  W.  Turner's,  214 

Sportsman's  Cabinet,  The,  268 

Stephenson,  George,  Pickersgill's  portrait 

of,  329 
Stevens,  Edward,   A.,  drawings  by,   155  ; 

death  of,  ib. 

Stothard,  Thomas,  R.A.,  on  the  committee 
to  consider  the  charges  against  Barry, 
128;  Life  of,  by  Mrs  Bray,  196;  birth 
and  parentage  of,  ib. ;  his  employment 
as  an  illustrator,  ib.\  his  art,  198  ;  elected 
Librarian,  ib. 
"Stratford  Mill  on  the  Stour,"  Constable's, 

334 
"  Strawberry  Girl,  The,"  24 


'-Stray  Kitten,"  William  Collins's,  293 
Stubbs,  George,  A.,  the  art  of,  162 ;  his  work 

on  the  anatomy  of  the  horse,  ib. ;  elected 

Academician,  but  never  received  diploma, 

163 
Students,  the  admission  of,  to  the  Academy 

1 70 ;   list  of,  who  have   obtained  gold 

medals  and  travelling  studentships,  383- 

393 
Studentship  in  the  Royal  Academy,  changes 

in  the  period  of,  179 
"  Sun  rising  in  Mist,"  J.  M.  W.  Turner's, 

223 

TATE  GALLERY,  the,  288 

Thackeray's,  W.  M.,  tribute  to  C.  R.  Leslie, 
327 

Theed,  William,  R.A.,  269;  his  "Thetis 
bearing  the  Arms  of  Achilles,"  ib. ;  in- 
fluence of  Flaxman  on,  ib. 

"Thetis  and  Achilles,"  T.  Banks's,  138; 
W.  Theed's,  269 

"Thetis  and  the  Nereids,"  Flaxman's, 
205 

Thicknesse,  Philip,  72 

Thomson,  Henry,  R.A.,  birth  and  educa- 
tion of,  238 ;  is  appointed  Keeper,  ib. ; 
his  letter  on  retiring  from  the  office, 

239 
Thornbury,  Walter,  The  Life  of  Turner  by, 

211 
Thornhill,  Sir  James,  his  efforts  to  supply 

scientific  training,  6 

Tomkins,  William,  A.,  his  pictures,  158 
Toms,  Peter,  R.A.,  87  ;  painted  draperies 

for  Reynolds  and  others,  104 
Travelling  students,  383,  386,  388,  390 
Treasurers    of    the    Academy,    mode    of 

appointment  of,  45,  46  ;  list  of,  365 
"  Treaty  of  Penn  with  the  Indians,"  West's, 

187,  190 
Tresham,    Henry,    R.A.,    causes    internal 

dispute  in  the  Academy,    171 ;    elected 

Professor  of  Painting,  201 
Trimmer,  Mr,  221 
Trimmer  v.  Danby,  the  suit  of,  225 
Turk's  Head  Club,  The,  20 
Turner,    Charles,    A.E.,   his    engravings, 

340 

Turner,  J.  M.  W.,  R.A.,  his  position  in 
the  world  of  art,  168 ;  the  art  of, 
210,  212  ;  his  first  exhibited  drawing, 
211  ;  birth  and  parentage  of,  212 ; 
Ruskin's  strictures  on  his  art,  ib. ;  his 
art  education,  213  ;  his  distinguishing 
characteristic  as  an  artist,  214 ;  his 
imaginative  power,  215  ;  the  qualities 
of  his  art,  ib. ;  his  water-colours, 
216 ;  influence  of  Girtin  on,  ib. ; 
his  "Second  Period,"  217;  the  later 


410 


INDEX 


pictures  of,  218 ;  his  greatest  work, 
219;  houses  occupied  by,  220;  his 
last  days,  ib. ;  death  and  burial  of,  ib. ; 
Ruskin  on  his  solitary  life,  221  ;  money 
made  by  him,  ib. ;  his  affection  for 
the  Royal  Academy,  ib. ;  his  house 
in  Queen  Anne  Street,  222  ;  his  will, 
ib.,  223,  224,  225  ;  monument  to,  225 

Turner  Fund,  the,  226,  227 

Turner  Gold  Medal,  the,  226  ;  list  of 
Turner  gold  medallists,  391,  392 

Turner,  Life  o/,  by  Thornbury,  211 

Tyler,  William,  R.A.,  39;  appointed  to 
examine  into  the  finances  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  89 ;  the  chief  actor  in  the  revolt 
against  Reynolds.  104;  appointed  Trustee 
and  Auditor,  ib. 

UDNEY,  Miss,  119 

"  Ulysses  and  the  Sirens,"  Etty's,  331 

"  Ulysses   Deriding    Polyphemus,"   J.   M. 

W.  Turner's,  214 
University    College,    Gower    Street,     the 

design  for,  322 

VAN  DYCK  rescues  William  Dobson  from 

penury,  4 ;  his  influence  on  English  Art,  5 
Varnishing  Days,  the  establishment  of,  180 ; 

Turner's  attendance  at,  221  ;  Mulready's 

proposal  to  abolish,  278 
"Venus  and  Adonis,"  Thomas   Phillips', 

244 
Victoria,    Queen,   studies    under    Richard 

Westall,  199  ;  A.  E.  Chalon's  portrait  of, 

281 
"  View  of  Westminster  Bridge,"  E.  Martin's, 

156 

"Village  Buffoon,  The,"  Mulready's,  278 
"Village  Politicians,"  Wilkie's,  252 
Virginia  Water,  created  by  Thomas  Sandby, 

63 
"Virtue       Rewarded       and       Profligacy 

Punished,"  Penny's,  61 
Visitors  in  the  Schools,  first  election  of,  45 
Voyage  Round  Great  Britain,   A,   by   W. 

Daniell,  318 

WALE,  Samuel,  R.A.,  elected  Professor 
of  Perspective,  59,  64  ;  his  art,  65  ;  is 
employed  in  designing  illustrations  to 
books,  ib.  ;  works  illustrated  by,  66  ;  his 
historical  plates,  ib.  ;  is  appointed 
Librarian,  ib. 

Walpole,  Horace,  on  Art  in  England,  3 
Ward,  James,  R.A.,  birth  and  education  of, 
257  ;  George  Morland's  influence  on 
him,  ib. ;  appointed  Painter  and  Engraver 
to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  258  ;  his  art, 
259  ;  the  part  he  took  in  the  business  of 
the  Academy,  ib. ;  hit  book  on  The 


Fasting  Women  of  Tutbury,  260 ;  the 
close  of  his  life,  ib. 

Ward,  William,  A.E.,  apprenticed  to  J.  R. 
Smith,  300 ;  appointed  Mezzotint 
Engraver  to  the  Prince  Regent  and  the 
Duke  of  York,  301  ;  death  of,  ib. 

Washington,  Heath's  engraving  of,  155 

Water  -  colours,  The  Royal  Society  of 
Painters  in,  182 

Water-colour  painting  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  65  ;  Paul  Sandby's  water- 
colours,  105  ;  Turner's,  216 

Waverley  Novels,  The,  A.  Cooper's  illus- 
trations to,  290 

Webber,  John,  R.A.,  birth  and  death  of, 
149 ;  is  draughtsman  to  Cook's  last 
expedition  to  the  South  Seas,  ib. 

Wedgwood's  pottery,  206 

"Wellington,  The  Duke  of,"  Lawrence's, 
310 

Welch,  Mary,  marriage  of,  120 

West,  Benjamin,  P.R.A.,  on  the  roll  of  the 
Society  of  Artists,  n  ;  deputed  to  offer 
the  Presidency  of  the  newly  formed 
Academy  to  Reynolds,  1 2  ;  on  the  com- 
mittee to  request  Sir  J.  Reynolds  to 
withdraw  his  letter  of  resignation,  42  ; 
advocates  a  contribution  by  the  Academy 
towards  a  monument  to  Johnson,  43  ; 
elected  President  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
170;  duration  of  his  Presidency,  171; 
his  project  for  promoting  the  Fine  Arts, 
181  ;  parentage  of,  185  ;  birth  of,  187  ; 
pictures  by,  187,  190  ;  his  dedication  to 
the  profession  of  painting,  188  ;  studies 
in  Italy  and  comes  to  England,  189  ;  is  an 
object  of  envy  and  calumny,  ib.  ;  his 
belief  in  his  imagination,  190  ;  success  of 
his  career,  191  ;  his  intercourse  with 
George  III.,  ib. ;  is  offered  a  knighthood, 
192  ;  his  character,  ib.  •  his  popularity 
as  President,  id. ;  resigns  the  Presidency 
and  is  re-elected,  193  ;  burial  of,  ib. ; 
Lawrence's  portrait  of,  309 

Westall,  Richard,  R.A.,  198  ;  on  the  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  charges  against 
Barry,  128  ;  illustrates  Crabbe's  Poems 
and  Moore's  Loves  of  the  Angels,  199;  gives 
drawing  lessons  to  Queen  Victoria,  ib. 

Westall,  William,  A.,  birth  and  early  life, 
299  ;  his  death,  300 

Westmacott,  Sir  Richard,  R.A.,  birth  and 
parentage  of,  261  ;  monuments  by,  ib. ; 
his  "Achilles  Statue,"  261;  elected 
Professor  of  Sculpture,  262  ;  knighted, 
ib. ;  death  of,  ib. 

Wheatley,  Francis,  R.A.,  149,  150 

"  Whistonian  Controversy,"  Mulready's, 
279 

"  White  Horse,  The,"  Constable's,  335 


INDEX 


411 


Wilkie,  Sir  David,  R.A.,  249  ;  his  early 
predilections  for  drawing,  250 ;  his 
education,  251  ;  anecdotes  of  his  early 
years,  ib. ;  pictures  by,  251-254  ;  his  art, 
ib.  ;  adopts  a  change  of  style,  254  ;  his 
personality,  255  ;  his  death,  256 

Wilkins,  William,  R.A.,  parentage  and 
education  of,  321  ;  buildings  designed  by 
him,  z/5.,  322  ;  elected  Professor  of 
Architecture,  ib. ;  death  of,  ib. 

Wilson,  Benjamin,  106 

Wilson,  Richard,  R.A.,  on  the  roll  of  the 
Society  of  Artists,  II  ;  birth  and  paren- 
tage of,  98  ;  his  place  amongst  British 
landscape  painters,  ib.  ;  his  studies  in 
Italy,  99  ;  Ruskin's  opinion  of  his  art, 
ib. ;  unhappy  life  of,  loo ;  elected 
Librarian,  ib. ;  "Peter  Pindar's"  lines 
on  him,  ib. 

Wilton,  Joseph,  R.A.,  9 ;  meeting  at  the 
house  of,  to  consider  the  schism  in  the 
Society  of  Artists,  12  ;  elected  Keeper, 
100 ;  birth  and  education  of,  101  ;  be- 
comes joint  manager  with  Cipriani  of  the 
Duke  of  Richmond's  Gallery,  ib.  ; 
appointed  State-coach  carver  to  George 
III.,  ib.\  public  monuments  by,  ib. ; 
embodies  the  charges  against  Barry,  128 

Winckelmann,  Abbe,  92,  95 

"Witch  of  Endor,"  C.  R.  Leslie's,  324 

Wolcott,  Dr,  introduces  John  Opie  to 
London,  140 

"Wolf  and  the  Lamb,  The,"  Mulready's, 
279 

Wollstonecraft,  Mary,  her  admiration  for 
Henry  Fuseli,  147 

Woodforde,  Samuel,  R.A.,  birth  and  early 
education  of,  241 

Wordsworth,  Pickersgill's  portrait  of,  329 


Wright,  Joseph  (of  Derby),  A.,  collection 
of  his  pictures  at  the  Old  Masters  Exhibi- 
tion of  1886,  163  ;  his  letter  to  the  Secre- 
tary on  his  election  as  an  Associate,  164  ; 
declines  to  be  an  Academician,  1 66 

Wright,  Richard,  163 

Wright,  Thomas,  99 

Wyatt,  James,  R.A.,  on  the  committee  to 
consider  the  charges  against  Barry,  128  ; 
public  buildings  designed  by,  138  ;  Presi- 
dent elect,  139,  193  ;  suspended  from  the 
Council,  172 

Wyatville,  Sir  Jeffry,  R.A.,  birth  and 
parentage  of,  319 ;  appointed  Architect 
to  the  additions  at  Windsor,  ib. ;  squib 
on,  ib. ;  is  knighted,  320  ;  works  by,  ib. ; 
death  of,  ib. 

VENN,  John,  R.A.,  his  appointment  as 
Treasurer  to  the  Academy,  30,  149 ; 
suspended  from  the  Council,  172 

Yeo,  Richard,  R.A.,  105 

ZOFFANY,  Johan,  R.A.,  on  the  roll  of  the 
Society  of  Artists,  II  ;  his  nomination  as 
an  original  member  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  84  ;  birth  and  parentage  of, 
106 ;  obscurity  of  his  early  life,  ib. ; 
engaged  by  Benjamin  Wilson  to  paint 
faces,  107 ;  rescued  from  obscurity  by 
David  Garrick,  ib. ;  early  pictures 
painted  in  his  own  name,  ib. ;  success  of, 
108 ;  his  art,  ib.  ;  goes  to  India,  109 ; 
death  of,  ib. 

Zuccarelli,  Francesco,  R.A.,  105 
Zucchi,  Antonio,  A.,  marriage  of,  93,  156  ; 
birth  and  parentage  of,  156;  persuaded 
to  come  to    England   by  the  brothers 
Adam,  ib. 


Printed  by 

Oliver   and   Boyd 

Edinburgh 


.:..  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CQ14D0037E3 


tf\l 


252602 


